Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng attends a reception to mark the 21st anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland on Dec 20, 2020. (PHOTO/ XINHUA)
The Macao Special Administrative Region is on the threshold of social and economic recovery after three years battling the COVID-19 pandemic, said Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng.
In seeking social and economic recovery, Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng urged all members of the community to continue cooperating with the SAR government’s anti-COVID measures to ensure their own safety
Speaking at a reception on Tuesday marking the 23rd anniversary of Macao’s return to the motherland, he said the most difficult days are over and the city should be out of the woods next year. Macao will focus on medical treatment and ramp up efforts to get the economy going again.
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Ho said although the protracted pandemic has severely hit the SAR in the past three years, the city’s infection rate and death toll have been relatively low. This has laid a solid foundation for Macao to align itself with the nation’s latest anti-pandemic policies and shift the focus from infection control to medical treatment.
With the resumption of normal cross-boundary travel, along with the massive non-gambling investment projects to be undertaken by the city’s casino operators in the following decade, Ho hopes Macao will further diversify its economy and enter a new stage of development in the post-pandemic era.
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In seeking social and economic recovery, he urged all members of the community to continue cooperating with the SAR government’s anti-COVID measures to ensure their own safety.
Ho also revealed he’ll leave for Beijing on Wednesday to report to State leaders on the Macao SAR’s work in the past year and his administration’s priorities for next year.