The government announced yesterday that it has set up a new temporary quarantine facility at the newly completed nursing college building in the Cotai hospital complex – a mega project under construction.
According to the announcement, 192 beds have been set up there for three kinds of people: 1) those undergoing 14-days medical observation after having been in close contact with confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, 2) those who have been classified as having a “high risk” of being infected with the novel coronavirus disease, and 3) recovered COVID-19 patients undergoing 14-days medical observation.
Consequently, all the 120 beds in the Health Bureau’s (SSM) quarantine facility in Coloane – its Public Health Clinical Centre – can now be used for confirmed COVID-19 patients, Lo Iek Long, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said during yesterday evening’s daily press conference about Macau’s COVID-19 situation.
Lo also said that 26 people who have been in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients were transferred yesterday from the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane to the new quarantine facility in Cotai, officially known as “Temporary Isolation Centre”.
The nursing college building is the first and only building completed in the Cotai hospital complex project, officially known as Cotai Health Complex, while the other six buildings of the project are still under construction or in the planning stage. The nursing college building, the construction of which was completed in October last year, will be the new campus of the Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau – which is currently located next to the private Kiang Wu Hospital on the peninsula. The college’s executives said last year they planned to move to the new nursing college building in the Cotai hospital complex in the second half of this year.
Lo Iek Long, one of the three clinical directors of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, addresses yesterday’s press conference at the Health Bureau (SSM) about the city’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Photo: GCS
The government said last week that Macau now has a total of 232 isolation beds for: 1) confirmed COVID-19 patients, 2) those undergoing 14-days medical observation after having been in close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients, and 3) those who have been classified as having a “high risk” of being infected with the novel coronavirus disease. The 232 isolation beds comprise 112 beds in the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre and 120 beds in the Coloane Public Health Clinical Centre.
The beds in the public hospital on the peninsula are used for confirmed COVID-19 patients and those who with a “high risk” of being infected with the novel coronavirus disease. The beds at the Coloane Public Health Clinical Centre were initially only used for close contacts with confirmed COVID-19 patients and those with a “high risk” of being infected with the disease, before the government said early last week that it would transfer some COVID-19 patients with mild illness from the public hospital to there. Lo said last week that the government had decided to keep transferring more and more patients with mild illness who are in a stable condition from the public hospital to the Coloane Public Health Clinical Centre for their continued treatment because Macau now has increasing numbers of confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Macau had confirmed 38 COVID-19 patients before yesterday evening’s press conference. Macau’s “first wave” 10 patients – comprising seven tourists from Wuhan and three locals – have been discharged. All the 28 patients in the “second wave” – which began on March 15 – are still undergoing treatment. Lo said yesterday evening that 10 of the 28 patients have so far been transferred from the public hospital to the Coloane Public Health Clinical Centre for their continued treatment.
Macau’s 39th COVID-19 case was confirmed last night.
Recovered COVID-19 patients were also required to undergo 14-days medical observation at the Coloane Public Health Clinical Centre. The last discharged patient of the “first wave” patients, a 64-year-old local woman, completed her 14-days medical observation at the Public Health Clinical Centre earlier this month, following her discharge from hospital on March 6. Consequently, there are currently no recovered COVID-19 patients undergoing the 14-days medical observation.
The local government confirmed another COVID-19 case last night, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 39 late last night.
192 beds in 96 rooms
During yesterday’s press conference, Lo said that the whole nursing college building in the Cotai hospital complex has been converted into a “Temporary Isolation Centre”. There are 96 rooms on the 11th to the 15th floor of the building, and 192 beds have been set up in the 96 rooms.
Lo said that the use of the new temporary quarantine centre in the new nursing college building has three advantages, namely: 1) it can be used for a long time as the building is government property, 2) a good layout so that clean passageways and contaminated passageways can be clearly separated, and 3) the government’s medical and anti-epidemic items can be stored on floors below the 10th floor of the building.
‘Forward-looking’ contingency plan
Lo said that it was a “forward-looking” contingency plan for the government to set up the new temporary quarantine centre. Lo said that this was a measure in preparation for a possible large number of new COVID-19 cases to be confirmed in the near future, so as to ensure that there will be always sufficient isolation beds for new COVID-19 patients. Lo also pointed out that the government has not yet passed the new nursing college building to any private health organisation for its operation.
‘No strong transmission ability’
Meanwhile, SSM Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou reassured yesterday’s daily press conference that the eight people in Macau who had been in close contact with a 40-year-old Filipina who has been confirmed by the Hong Kong authorities to have been infected with the novel coronavirus disease following her visit in Macau did not appear to have had a strong transmission ability, considering that all of them have tested negative for COVID-19 in their first nucleic acid tests.
The local government announced on Sunday that the Filipina, who then had been “preliminarily” confirmed by the Hong Kong authorities to have been infected with the novel coronavirus disease, visited Macau last week, and during her six-day stay here she had lunch several times at the Jollibee fast-food eatery in the city centre and bought fresh food at the São Domingos Municipal Market.
The government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre revealed the Filipina’s detailed travel history during her stay in Macau in a statement yesterday afternoon, which identified her as a Hong Kong resident who works as a bar waitress there. She was finally confirmed to have been infected with the novel coronavirus disease earlier yesterday.
According to the statement, the Hong Kong Filipina stayed in a private flat in Tak Cheong Building in Rua de S. José – a street near the São Lourenço Church – during her six-day visit in Macau.
The woman came to Macau last Sunday and returned to Hong Kong on Friday.
Roadhouse at Broadway
In addition to having lunch at the local branch of the Philippine fast-food chain at Circle Square in Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro and buying fresh food in the wet market in the city centre – based on the information revealed by the local government on Sunday, the Hong Kong Filipina also visited a string of locations during her six-day visit to Macau, according to yesterday’s statement, such as buying ice-cream at the Häagen-Dazs outlet near the city’s main square Largo do Senado, buying a cable from the Fortress shop at the square, and visiting The Roadhouse Macau bar in the Galaxy Entertainment Group’s Broadway Food Street in Cotai.
People sit outside The Roadhouse Macau bar and restaurant at Broadway Macau last night. The eatery is temporarily closed. Photo: Monica Leong
According to the statement, she stayed with her Hong Kong colleague and a non-resident worker employed in Macau – also a Filipina who is her local friend – in the flat in Rua de S. José during her six-day visit.
In addition, she also had meals with a number of other friends in Macau in the flat in Rua de S. José as well as a flat in Rua da Ribeira do Patane, the home of one of her friends, according to the statement.
She told the Macau authorities that she did not wear a facemask during the gatherings with her friends in the two flats but was always wearing a facemask when taking public transport in Macau.
