Eligible people staying in Macao with a valid negative COVID-19 test result will be able – from the stroke of midnight on 12 August – to travel quarantine-free to any part of mainland China.

That is according to an official letter by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council detailing measures targeting a resumption of normal cross-boundary movement between the mainland and Macao.

The letter by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council also announced the resumption – from Wednesday – of visa issuance for independent travel to Macao under the individual travel scheme, for residents of Zhuhai and holders of a Zhuhai residence permit.

To be exempted from a 14-day period of medical observation when entering mainland China, eligible people in Macao must obtain a negative nucleic acid test result, issued within seven days of their intended departure from Macao. They also cannot have been, 14 days before their intended travel to mainland China, to a foreign country, nor to Hong Kong or Taiwan.

People will not be exempted from a 14-day medical observation in mainland China if they are either: a confirmed COVID-19 patient; are suspected of having COVID-19 infection; or have had close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient. Those with a fever or symptoms of respiratory illness will also not be able to enjoy the quarantine exemption.

Quarantine-free travel to mainland China only applies to holders of either: a valid Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents; a valid passport issued by the People's Republic of China; or any other travel document issued by the People's Republic of China.

The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms Ao Ieong U, detailed the measures in a press conference held on Monday (August 10) by the Government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.

Ms Ao Ieong stated that the latest measures included a mechanism to suspend quarantine-free travel to mainland China, namely if there were new local COVID-19 infections in Macao. Were Macao to be labelled as ‘medium’ or ‘high risk’ for COVID-19, quarantine-free travel for individuals from Macao to the mainland would be suspended, until such risk was again considered ‘low’, she said.

According to mainland’s joint prevention and control mechanism for COVID-19, a place is labelled as ‘medium risk’ for the disease if a local case of infection is recorded there. If more than 10 local cases of infection are recorded, such place is labelled as ‘high risk’.