Three more Nepali security guards working at the Golden Crown China Hotel, and a mainlander working in the security control room of the adjacent Treasure Hotel, were confirmed as COVID-19 patients yesterday, bringing Macau’s total number of novel coronavirus cases to 71.
Both hotels are government-designated COVID-19 medical observation quarantine hotels. The two hotels in front of the local airport in Taipa are connected.
The four latest COVID-19 cases, which were confirmed in one day, have been classified as “connected to an imported case” – a local male resident holding Turkish nationality who had been quarantined at the Golden Crown China Hotel after his arrival here from Turkey via Singapore on September 18. He was confirmed as Macau’s 64th COVID-19 case on Friday.
All four of the latest patients have been infected with the Delta variant.
Health professionals prepare COVID-19 nucleic acid tests yesterday in Rua da Palmeira in the Inner Harbour area’s Patane district, which is a yellow code zone, where a Nepali security guard lived before he was confirmed as Macau’s 69th COVID-19 patient. Photos: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) officials in protective gear prepare food deliveries yesterday for residents in Rua da Erva in the Patane district, a yellow code zone, where a Nepali working as a security guard at one of the government-designated “quarantine hotels” lived before he was confirmed as the city’s 70th novel coronavirus patient yesterday. Residents living in a yellow code zone are barred from leaving their homes until completing their first nucleic acid test (NAT).
645,230 people tested – all negative
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement last night that all results of the 645,230 people tested during the city’s second round of mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, which started at 3 p.m. on Saturday and ended at 3 p.m. yesterday, were confirmed as negative.
In addition, 44,536 people underwent a COVID-19 test at the city’s regular NAT stations between 3 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday – i.e., outside the mass testing programme, with all the results also negative. Consequently, all the 689,766 people tested between 3 p.m. on Friday until 3 p.m. yesterday recorded negative results.
During yesterday afternoon’s COVID-19 press conference – when three more Nepali security guards had been confirmed as novel coronavirus patients, Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long reassured residents that the three patients posed a “relatively low” COVID-19 risk to the community as they had already been taken into quarantine before they tested positive for the novel coronavirus yesterday, because of which, Lo said, the Health Bureau also provisionally concluded that there was no need to launch a new round of citywide COVID-19 testing.
Lo also announced that the Health Bureau had decided to transfer all the about 150 people undergoing medical observation at the Golden Crown China Hotel to other “quarantine hotels”.
The confirmation of the four latest COVID-19 cases came after two Nepali security guards working at the Golden Crown China Hotel were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease on Saturday. Both cases have been classified as “connected to” the 64th case.
Consequently, a total of six security staff members, all males, from the two hotels had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of last night. All of them are undergoing isolation treatment at the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane. All six have been infected with the Delta variant, and they have been classified as “connected to” the 64th case.
The confirmation of the first two Nepali patients on Saturday resulted in the three-day, 72-hour mass NAT drive. The two patients, Macau’s 65th and 66th COVID-19 cases, were apparently infected by the local resident who had returned from Turkey. The Health Bureau has said that the two security guards failed to wear their facemasks properly while on duty at the Golden Crown China Hotel.
Macau launched its first-ever citywide NAT drive in early August, which also 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.
Macau’s 67th COVID-19 patient is a Hong Kong woman who underwent quarantine at the Treasure Hotel. The case, which was confirmed on Monday, has been classified as an imported case.
The four latest COVID-19 patients are Macau’s 68th, 69th, 70th, 71st cases.
All five Nepali security guards were inoculated twice against COVID-19 in Macau with China’s Sinopharm vaccine, while the security staff member from the mainland received his first COVID-19 jab (Sinopharm) and his second shot (China’s Sinovac vaccine) in the mainland. Both are inactivated vaccines.
According to a statement by the centre last night, the mainlander working in the security control room of the Treasure Hotel used the same locker room as other security personnel of the Treasure Hotel and the adjacent Golden Crown China Hotel, which are connected to each other. The statement also noted that the mainlander was not in contact with any guests undergoing quarantine while on duty.
Since Friday, eight people have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
The government has imposed a lockdown on the building where the first Nepali patient lived until his isolation treatment and a number of adjacent buildings in the Inner Harbour area’s Patane district. A lockdown has also been imposed on the building in the Avenida de Horta e Costa neighbourhood where the second Nepali patient lived until his isolation treatment. 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.
The centre announced yesterday that the buildings where the three latest Nepali COVID-19 patients live and a number of adjacent buildings are covered by a yellow-code zone.
All the three new yellow-code zones are in the Patane district.
Despite the fact that those living in a yellow-code zone can leave their homes, they are subject to various COVID-19 measures such as undergoing a number of nucleic acid tests during a period of at least 14 days. Their Macau Health Code colour will return to green after testing negative for COVID-19 in all the required tests during the period.
During yesterday’s press conference, Lo said that the Health Bureau has concluded that there is no need to impose a lockdown on each of the buildings where the three latest Nepali COVID-19 patients live because they had already been taken into quarantine before they tested positive for the novel coronavirus yesterday. As a precautionary measure, Lo said, the Health Bureau has decided to cover the three areas in yellow-code zones.
Meanwhile, Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination drive will be resumed today. The programme remained suspended during the three-day citywide COVID-19 tests.
