Macau Drops Covid Test Demand For International Arrivals

International arrivals to the world’s biggest gambling hub of Macau will no longer need to undergo a Covid test, its government announced on Thursday.

The move will also apply to travellers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, in what is being seen as one of the biggest steps yet to relax China’s stringent Covid-19 measures.

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However, travellers from overseas will still be required to present a negative nucleic acid test certificate for entry, the government said.

The new requirements will be effective from December 23. Earlier this week, Macau cancelled its regulations on risk zones in mainland China.

Visitor arrivals to the gambling centre dropped by 36.8% on the month and 54.3% year-on-year to 366,511 in November, according to the Macao Statistics Bureau.

Reuters with additional editing by Sean O’Meara

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Sean O'Meara

Sean O'Meara is an Editor at Asia Financial. He has been a newspaper man for more than 30 years, working at local, regional and national titles in the UK as a writer, sub-editor, page designer and print editor. A football, cricket and rugby fan, he has a particular interest in sports finance.