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While Macau is reopening its borders to the entire world, the enclave will continue to require proof of a negative test for visitors arriving from anywhere other than mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Macau says international travelers must undergo a rapid antigen test no more than 48 hours before boarding their flight for China\/Macau.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Declaration of health statuses has also been dropped. Those previously entailed travelers completing online forms through a mobile health code application, asserting that they haven’t had any recent known contact with an infected person. The region’s easing of its pandemic processes also allows Macau International Airport to recommence transfer and layover services.<\/p>\n
Virus Rages On<\/b><\/h2>\n
Macau’s easing of its border rules was made possible by China President Xi Jinping’s decision last month to end “zero-COVID.” The pandemic response policy kept normal life on hold in the country for more than three years, with rolling lockdowns, business suspensions, and travel halts.<\/p>\n
Mainland protests regarding Xi’s ongoing “zero-COVID” likely prompted his change of thinking. Xi didn’t admit defeat, but instead said his reverse of course only came after his top medical advisor — Zhong Nanshan — said COVID-19’s Omicron variant doesn’t present more severe complications than does the common flu.<\/p>\n
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Macau Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo made another bold comment this week. He said someone who has been recently infected with COVID-19 cannot become reinfected for a minimum of three to six months. Lo added that an estimated 60% to 70% of the resident population in Macau has already been infected since Beijing’s lifting of “zero-COVID.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Xi largely scrapped his controversial pandemic policy in early December. International health experts estimate that more than a quarter of a billion people were infected with the coronavirus in China between December 1 and December 20.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Macau will drop nearly all of its COVID-19 pandemic protocols as they relate to entry procedures this Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. After more than three years of entry restrictions, Macau is ceasing COVID-19 testing, quarantine, and observation mandates for most arrivals. Beginning Sunday, mainlanders, Hong Kongers, and people from Taiwan will be fully free to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":251703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,81881],"tags":[82061,80969,51],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Macau Reopening to Entire World, as Enclave Drops Pandemic Protocols<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n