The Health Bureau (SSM) urged the public in a statement on Tuesday to take precautions against COVID-19 because the circulation of the disease in neighbouring regions has been increasing and has reached a new peak level, while the prevalence of COVID-19 in Macau has dropped from its peak but is still relatively active.
According to the statement, the laboratory surveillance data shows that the positive rate of COVID-19 detected in patients with influenza-like symptoms in Macau had been rising since late February, reaching a peak in mid-March, after which it began to decline gradually, and had been fluctuating over the past three weeks, with the positive rates in this year’s 17th, 18th, and 19th weeks standing at 12 percent, 17 percent, and 11 percent, respectively, indicating that there had been a slight upturn.
According to the statement, 111 clusters of influenza-like illnesses have been recorded so far this year, of which 26 infection clusters were caused by COVID-19, mainly in residential care homes. The Health Bureau has provided appropriate medical care under its residential care home support mechanism by prescribing antiviral medication to the applicable target groups, the statement said.
The current strain of COVID-19 circulating in Macau is the XDV variant related to JN.1, which is basically the same as that in neighbouring regions, the statement noted, adding, however, that the latest information does not show that XDV will cause more serious diseases than JN.1 and XBB and their descendants. The bureau also said that the COVID-19 vaccine used in Macau against JN.1 is still effective in reducing the risk of infection and development of critical illnesses caused by the current strain of the virus circulating in Macau.
Residents should be more aware of the need for precautionary measures, according to the statement. In particular, high-risk groups (such as the elderly, patients with severe chronic underlying diseases and immunocompromised persons) should be prioritised for vaccination to reduce the risk of infection, the bureau said.
Image courtesy of World Health Organisation (WHO).
