Macau’s fledgling recovery could be dealt a blow if the territory is included in plans currently under discussion in China to restrict outbound travel this winter to contain any possible spread of Covid-19.
Yin Chen Gi, deputy director of the National Immigration Administration, said the plans would involve a “strict” process for reviewing requests by Chinese citizens for travel permits for “non-essential” reasons, which he defined as “tourism, family visits” and “visits to friends.”
He did not mention how long the controls would last or what destinations would be affected but said they would be based on the government’s assessment of the global outlook for the pandemic.
Outbound travel, including to Macau, which is independently governed as part of China, was shut down in January, and their mutual borders remained largely closed for months, devastating casino revenues and the local economy, which depends on gambling-related tourism, most of it from the mainland. Visas for individual tourist travel were only restored in border areas in August. They’ve since been resumed nationwide, but visitation is still far below pre-pandemic levels. As for gaming revenues, it’s expected to be two or three years at the least, everything else being equal, before they return to the world-leading levels they enjoyed before the crisis.
Reuters, meanwhile, reports that mainland authorities have noted a rise in imported cases of Covid-19 among travelers arriving from abroad, and there is mounting concern about the spread of the potentially deadly virus from foreign sources after a handful of cases linked to food imports emerged recently in the northern port city of Tianjin, and an airport worker in Shanghai tested positive for the disease.
“China’s epidemic prevention and control work cannot be relaxed for a single moment,” Li Bin, vice minister of the National Health Commission, said at a press briefing.
Countries like the United States, India, Brazil and France have seen record new cases of the virus this fall, while in China, where it was first identified last December, it has largely been brought under control, although clusters of community infection have periodically hit parts of the country.
Luo Zhaohui, vice minister of foreign affairs, said opening up exclusive travel to and from countries less affected by the virus would be considered but only at the proper time.
“For closed-loop travel bubbles we do not deny this possibility, but we think the conditions are not right yet,” he said.
He also warned Chinese citizens against traveling abroad.
“Our advice is do not go overseas.”
