Officials of the Macau SAR government have denied Hong Kong’s extension of quarantine measures on arrivals from Macau will impact the progress of negotiations between the two jurisdictions on a border reopening.
Hong Kong this week extended its mandatory 14-day quarantine measures for visitors from Macau and mainland China to 7 August. Macau’s health officials responded on Wednesday that discussions about easing some border controls between Macau and Hong Kong were still ongoing.
However, the health officials admitted that cross-border policies would not be fully reinstated until a COVID-19 vaccine becomes available.
Leading respiratory expert Dr Zhong Nanshan visited Macau this week and shared guidance to Macau medical personnel about preventive works. Zhong said that Chinese vaccine research and development teams had already developed five types of vaccines which are currently in the phase two clinical trial stage.