It was previously announced that those arriving from high-risk countries would only be allowed to stay at the Treasure Hotel and would no longer be able to choose their preferred hotel, with the facility currently under preparatory work and set to start operating on December 1.

Having a booking in this hotel will be a requirement to board a flight to Macau for people coming from countries designated as high risk. Bookings can be carried out via email or via the hotel’s email or a special hotline created for it, 2885 0188.

The 500-room hotel has so far been used as a government-designated quarantine hotel, with authorities indicating they decided to choose the property as the first special isolation location due to its high room capacity, separate building, and location far from the community.

Currently, there are still 1,171 people undergoing medical observation, of which 1,167 people in designated hotels and three people in Health Bureau facilities.

Currently, one of the only routes to return to the SAR from regions outside Greater China is via the Singapore airport, with all arrivals from this route considered as “secondary high risk” and having to complete quarantine in the Treasure Hotel.
Authorities will monitor the number of available rooms and find alternative hotels if the Treasure Hotel becomes fully booked.

In order to reduce the risk of transmission for frontline workers in the hotel, authorities are also planning to start using automated robots to provide non-contact services, such as body temperature scanning, disinfection, and material distribution.

Meanwhile, people coming from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and high-risk areas in Mainland China will be able to select any quarantine hotel but starting from November 20 everyone entering the city – residents and non-residents alike – will have to book quarantine hotels in advance and present proof of reservation upon entry.

Medical observation hotels were divided into two categories: designated hotels, which have a fixed daily fee and are limited to Macau ID holders and their relatives; and optional hotels, which are available to non-Macau ID holders and where the price is determined by the property’s management.

Previously residents would be assigned to government-designated hotels upon arrival if they had not booked any optional hotel.

By Nelson Moura