Macao Special Administrative Region government said on Tuesday it has planned to lift restrictions on the entry and exit of transient workers through Gongbei checkpoint, which links Macao to Guangdong province, on May 22, if the containment on SARS in the neighboring regions continues to remain stable.
Macao suspended the personnel flow of transient workers between Macao and the Chinese mainland at the land checkpoint two weeks ago. The Health Service of the Macao government announced that the restrictions will be lifted as the neighboring regions have basically brought Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) under control.
A large number of workers undertaking infrastructure projects, such as an amusement harbor, stadiums to host the 2005 East Asian Games and a bridge connecting the Macao Peninsula to the Taipa Island, are from the Chinese mainland.
However, if there is any twists in the situation of the epidemic, the health authority will sustain the restrictions for a longer period, it said.
Workers from the mainland are obliged to take a two-week quarantine in Zhuhai city, Guangdong, before they enter Macao during the period of the restrictions, which has delayed the schedule of many construction projects.
(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2003)
