After the 21-day trade ban comes to an end, Macau will resume the import of live poultry Thursday (Apr 3) as scheduled.

The government has estimated that live poultry will be available at local markets as soon as this Friday (Apr 4), if there are no abnormal tests results shown in the imported birds.

The ban on trading live poultry was issued when the H7 virus was found in a batch of chickens imported from Zhuhai on March 12. Around 7,500 live chickens in the wholesale market waiting for sample tests were immediately eliminated, while the floors carrying live birds for wholesale business were blockaded for thorough disinfection.

On Monday (Apr 1), the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) released a statement that according to the established procedure, the live poultry import must be retained in the wholesale market for quarantine.

IACM said they will also increase the amount of samples [for tests], while the test results are expected to come out later in the afternoon. It added that poultry that pass the quarantine can be offered for sale in all markets and retail poultry stores from Friday (Apr 4).

During the 21-day period, all live poultry stalls in local markets have been closed and disinfected. The IACM also sent a delegation to the Zhuhai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, discussing the health inspection and imports to Macau, should another crisis arise in the future.

The Bureau added that large-scale cleansing and disinfection will be conducted synchronously in both the wholesale market and the poultry stalls at all of the eight markets in Macau in order to destroy the biological chain of the virus in the future.