Macau (MNA) – Locations amidst a measles outbreak currently listed in a travel notice by the Tourism Crisis Management Bureau (GGCT) include a total of 14 destinations within South and Southeast Asia and Europe, the Bureau told MNA.

‘As per the information released, which takes into account the most sought out destinations for Macau residents and information released by the World Health Organization, the destinations include Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Romania, Greece, Italy, Belgium and France,’ the GGCT said.

The alert, jointly promoted by the GGCT and the Health Bureau (SS), does not include places such as Hong Kong and Japan, two common destinations for Macau residents, which are experiencing measles outbreaks.

In Hong Kong, the 33rd measles case was reported over the weekend, while in Japan, where the number of measles cases reached nearly 258 in the first two months of the year, the disease is said to have grown at its fastest pace in the past decade, according to media reports.

Outbound residents travelling to Hong Kong reached 258,000 in 2018, posting an increase of 10.3 per cent year-on-year from a year earlier, while residents travelling to Japan during the period amounted to 54,000, official data show.

The GGCT informs residents planning to travel to locations included in the advisory travel list to take precautions, such as keeping away from crowded places and properly washing hands, to avoid contamination.