Recently, travel between Macau and Hong Kong has gotten much simpler.
After nearly three years of having their services completely halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak, cross-border public transportation providers are starting to operate again between Macau and Hong Kong.
Last Friday, Dec. 24, express bus service between the two regions was reinstated via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. The return of the Macau to Hong Kong boat service is scheduled for Friday, December 30.
The reintroduction of public transit coincides with China’s decision to end its divisive “zero-COVID” policy, which has prevented the return to regular living. Government officials across the mainland and in China’s two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) are eager to lift pandemic policies to allow people to get back to their lives, despite the fact that case counts are surging and COVID-19 hospitalizations are reportedly causing medical facilities to become overcrowded.
It might cost a lot of money.
China’s herd immunity has apparently been significantly reduced by the widespread isolations and quarantines because President Xi Jinping of China maintained “zero-COVID” throughout the pandemic. According to medical experts, this will make the elderly and defenseless the most prone to serious side effects of contracting the virus.
Crossing Borders
Prior to the pandemic, Macau’s casinos largely depended on mainland China and Hong Kong to maintain the vibrancy of their multibillion-dollar resorts and fill their high roller rooms.
For instance, of the 39 million visitors that entered Macau in 2019, about 20 million came from the mainland. The second-highest number of travelers, with roughly seven million arrivals, came from Hong Kong.
The municipal administration of Macau made another move last week. They declared that visitors entering the casino hub from abroad, Hong Kong, or Taiwan are no longer subject to any quarantine. They also let Hong Kong’s public transportation to resume.
Authorities in Macau are informing residents that going future, they are personally accountable for their own health security at Beijing’s command. Nevertheless, many Hong Kong residents are taking advantage of the chance.
We wanted to go outdoors to have a look around because the entire world has been under lockdown for the past three years, 33-year-old Albert Xu of the mainland told the South China Morning Post while visiting Macau. “Work cannot be the only thing in your life.”
When ferries start running again on Friday, there will only be one daily departure in each direction from Taipa to Hong Kong Airport and vice versa. The Taipa Ferry Terminal in Macau is situated close to the Cotai Strip and the Macau International Airport.
Some Entry Rules Still Apply
Even if traveling through Macau is becoming more convenient, the region still has some pandemic rules in place. Every traveler entering Macau’s border gates must show proof of a recent negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.
Participants must then undergo a daily quick antigen test for the following five days as part of Macau’s “Self-Management” program. The individual’s Health Code app must be updated with the test findings.
When a test is positive, a person’s Health Code will show “red,” prohibiting them from being in public until their test results are negative.