Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday that it will no longer hold its weekly presser from this week.
“Presser” is journalese for a press conference.
According to the statement, the centre has made the decision after considering that Macau’s COVID-19 situation has stabilised.
After Macau returned to its normalised COVID-19 prevention and control period on August 8 from its latest outbreak that began on June 18, the centre had only held its press conference every Thursday.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the centre had held its press conference every day during periods when Macau was hit by an outbreak or local transmissions of the novel coronavirus.
During normalised COVID-19 prevention and control periods with zero local cases, i.e., each time after Macau had won its battle against an outbreak or local transmissions, the centre normally held one press conference every week. Consequently, since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, the centre had never ceased holding a weekly press conference, before the implementation of the new arrangement that was announced yesterday and takes effect this week.
The latest COVID-19 outbreak, also known in Chinese as 618 outbreak, was Macau’s worst since the start of the pandemic. The 618 outbreak, which lasted around six weeks, resulted in 1,821 cases.
Yesterday’s statement by the centre said that Macau, which has a stable COVID-19 situation, is currently experiencing its normalised COVID-19 prevention and control period. Consequently, the statement said, the centre has decided to “suspend” its regular press conference that had been held at 5 p.m. every Thursday from this week.
The centre’s last press conference was held on Thursday last week.
The new arrangement announced yesterday means that the centre will cease holding its weekly press conference for the first time since the pandemic began to affect Macau in January 2020.
Yesterday’s statement pledged that the centre will continue to closely monitor and assess the latest COVID-19 developments in Macau and elsewhere. The centre will continue to announce Macau’s latest COVID-19 situation and the government’s latest COVID-19 measures in “a timely manner” through different channels and ways, the statement said.
Nevertheless, the statement underlined, the centre will convene a press conference in the future in accordance with Macau’s “real needs”.
According to the Health Bureau (SSM), as of yesterday Macau’s COVID-19 tally of confirmed and asymptomatic stood at 793 and 1,617 respectively. Macau’s COVID-19 death toll remained at six.
Health Bureau (SSM) Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division chief Leong Iek Hou (left), Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Communication and External Relations Department chief Lau Fong Chi (centre), and Public Security Police (PSP) Operations and Communications Division chief Ma Chio Hong pose during a press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre on Thursday last week. – Photo: GCS
