Personnel deemed crucial to Macao's sustenance and production can be exempted from Zhuhai's 14-day mandatory quarantine for border crossers, the city Command Center for COVID-19 Prevention & Control announced on March 27.

They are defined as public-contingency service personnel or businesspeople; drivers with Guangdong-Macao dual license plates and those with Macao-only plates permitted entry into Hengqin; employees at Guangdong-Macao Cooperation Industrial Park in Hengqin, Zhuhai-Macao Cross-Border Industrial Zone in Maoshengwei in Gongbei, or Macao enterprises based in Hengqin; and others involved in ensuring Macao's economic and livelihood needs.

Also exempted are daily cross-border commuters; Macao residents with mainland residence permits: people who have chronic illnesses, or are handicapped, aged 70 or above or 14 and under, pregnant women, and patients needing to see doctors at a fixed hospital, Macao Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak specified in a local press conference the same day. 

There are restrictions even for them, however. They still must pass free nucleic acid tests and be subject to strict health management. Each has to sign a declaration confirming they have had no history of travel abroad or to Hong Kong and Taiwan and have not shown symptoms such as fever, fatigue, dry cough, or sore throat during the past 14 days before entry.

Medical staff collects throat swab samples for nucleic acid tests [Photo by Zhao Zi / WeChat account: zhtqb12345]