Addressing yesterday’s press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said that his bureau has concluded that the two Nepali security guards working at the Golden Crown China Hotel (one of the city’s “quarantine hotels”), who have become Macau’s 65th and 66th COVID-19 patients, were infected with the disease due to their failure to wear their facemasks properly when performing their duties in the hotel.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus situation. Photo: Tony Wong
Residents queue for a test at the Luso-Chinese Vocational and Technical School in Areia Preta district, one of the government’s testing stations under its ongoing mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, on Saturday. Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
Lo also confirmed that both were infected with the Delta variant by a guest undergoing medical observation there – the city’s 64th case.
The three cases were confirmed between Friday and Saturday.
Lo also said that the government was aware that some staff working at the city’s “quarantine hotels” have been letting their guard down in COVID-19 prevention when performing their duty.
Lo also urged residents to book a test under the ongoing mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, which is slated to end at 3 p.m. tomorrow, with the aim of avoiding a scenario of too many people undergoing their tests on the last day of the programme.
Macau launched a three-day mass NAT drive for the second time on Saturday after the two security guards were confirmed as COVID-19 patients earlier that day. The Health Bureau classified the two cases as “connected to an imported case”.
Macau confirmed the 64th COVID-19 case on Friday, a local male resident holding Turkish nationality who had been staying at the Golden Crown China Hotel for his 21-day quarantine after his arrival here from Turkey via Singapore on September 18. He tested negative for COVID-19 in a nucleic acid test upon his arrival in Macau, but tested positive for the disease in a follow-up test on Thursday night.
After the confirmation of the 64th COVID-19 case, the Health Bureau required all security guards, cleaners and other staff members of the hotel to undergo a follow-up nucleic acid test, after which the two security guards tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the early hours of Saturday, bringing Macau’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 66.
Macau launched its first-ever citywide NAT drive in early August, which lasted three days, after the confirmation of a four-member Delta variant family cluster. There were no positive results among the 716,251 people tested at that time.
For the ongoing mandatory mass NAT programme, which started at 3 p.m. on Saturday, a total of 52 testing stations have been set up across the city, comprising 31 general stations, 14 self-paid stations and seven special care stations.
All local residents and people staying in Macau are required to get the test, which is free of charge. Those who had already undergone a test after 3 p.m. on Friday are exempted from the mass NAT programme.
Continued on p.3
There are 367 sampling booths at the 52 stations, and special care channels are available at all testing stations operating around the clock. The seven special care testing stations provide walk-in tests for people in need of special care who are unable to make a prior booking, and they can, if needed, be accompanied by one person. To shorten the queuing time, the government suggests that people in need of special care book the test at general testing stations with the assistance of their family members or friends, in which case they can use the priority channels at the general testing stations.
Prior booking is required at general testing stations. Members of the public are urged to arrive at their respective stations on time. Late arrivals will need to book again. The holder’s original ID card (which must be the same document used for the Macau Health Code), booking code and health code must be presented for the testing.
The results of the tests carried out at general stations will not be uploaded to the Macau Health Code, which means that they cannot be used for immigration purposes, while results of the tests carried out at self-paid stations will be uploaded to the Macau Health Code for immigration purposes.
Prior booking is required for both general testing stations and self-paid testing stations.
Real-time information about the expected waiting time at every testing station is released every 15 minutes. The expected waiting time is indicated in three colours, namely green for a waiting time of less than 30 minutes, yellow for a waiting time of between 31 and 59 minutes, and red for a waiting time of 60 minutes or more.
The Macau Health Code of those who fail to undergo the mandatory tests under the programme within the 72-hour period, which ends at 3 p.m. tomorrow, will become yellow, which bars them from leaving Macau, entering various premises in the city, and using public transport.
Lockdowns
The government has imposed a lockdown on the building where one of the two Nepali patients lived until his isolation treatment at the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane and a number of adjacent buildings in Rua da Palmeira (Ma Chi Kai) in the Inner Harbour area’s Patane (Sa Lei Tau) district. A lockdown has also been imposed on the building in the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood where the other lived until their isolation treatment at Coloane clinic. The buildings are covered by so-called red code zones. Those living in the two red code zones are barred from leaving their homes during the lockdown period.
In addition, a number of other buildings near each of the two red code zones are covered by a so-called yellow code zone – i.e., the Macau Health Code colour of residents living there has become yellow – which bars them from leaving Macau, entering various premises in the city, and using public transport – despite the fact that they can leave their homes.
Guards’ facemasks didn’t cover nose & mouth
During yesterday’s press conference, Lo said that after scrutinising the hotel’s CCTV footage, the Health Bureau discovered that the two Nepali security guards, who were in contact with those undergoing quarantine, did “obviously” not wear their facemasks properly while on duty. “Although they were wearing a facemask, the way they were wearing them was obviously wrong,” Lo said.
Health Bureau Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou said that the Golden Crown China Hotel normally deploys a security guard on each floor, tasked with preventing those in quarantine from leaving their rooms, delivering meals to guests by putting them outside their room doors, and collecting the trays outside the doors after their meals.
According to Leong, the both the security guards worked on the 13th floor of the hotel, one working on the day shift and the other on the night shift.
Leong said that the CCTV footage shows that both were in contact with the 64th COVID-19 patient when they were not wearing their facemasks properly.
Leong added that while the two security guards were always wearing their facemasks, both were often wearing the masks without their nose covered, and sometimes even without their mouth covered. “Wearing a facemask in this way completely fails to achieve its purpose,” Leong said.
“Quarantine hotels, including its staff, have the responsibility to carry out COVID-19 prevention measures in strict adherence with the Health Bureau’s guidelines. We cannot check 24/7 whether everyone [at the quarantine hotels] is wearing a facemask or carrying out their tasks in line with our COVID-19 prevention guidelines,” Lo said.
“Why have some staff members failed to carry out their tasks in line with our COVID-19 prevention guidelines? It is possibly because their awareness is not strong enough. Awareness determines their behaviour. Some staff members may think that they are not risking COVID-19 infection as very few people have been confirmed as COVID-19 patients during their hotel quarantine period for a long time, because of which they have possibly let their guard down in their COVID-19 prevention awareness,” Lo said.
The health chief also said that many residents in general have let their guard down in COVID-19 prevention.
“Not only some staff members [at quarantine hotels], many residents also think that they are not risking COVID-19 infection as there has been no COVID-19 problem [in Macau] for a long time,” Lo said.
