Macau adds to Hong Kong flight ban

Macau has announced a two-week ban on any inbound passenger flights from outside China after three coronavirus cases were found in overseas arrivals.

Macau has closed its borders to non-China flights. Picture: AFP

Macau has announced a two-week ban on any inbound passenger flights from outside China after three coronavirus cases were found in passengers arriving from overseas.

The move came the same day Hong Kong banned flights from eight nations and ramped up social distancing measures, leaving the two neighbouring Chinese territories even more cut off from the rest of the world.

Like mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have maintained some of the world’s harshest measures throughout the pandemic.

Macau’s Health Bureau said on Wednesday it would prohibit “civil aircraft from carrying passengers from places outside China to Macau” for two weeks starting midnight on Sunday. Macau bars non-residents from entering the city, while residents returning from outside China have to quarantine for at least 21 days, similar to Hong Kong.

Health officials on Wednesday identified three imported asymptomatic cases in Macau, related to travellers from the UK and The Philippines. The gambling hub has recorded only 79 confirmed coronavirus cases and no deaths.

AFP