Addressing yesterday’s weekly press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Tai Wa Hou, the coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme, said that the government is planning to carry out on-site COVID-19 vaccinations at certain institutions and organisations with the aim of increasing Macau’s still relatively low inoculation rate, with priority given to university students.
Tai also said that if the government launches on-site COVID-19 vaccination services, inoculations for those in retirement homes would be carried out at a later time as senior citizens have a higher risk of having a post-vaccination adverse event.
The Health Bureau has said since last month that it will come up with a plan to ensure vaccination safety first before launching its on-site COVID-19 vaccination services, adding that its on-site COVID-19 vaccination teams will be equipped with first aid equipment – like at its COVID-19 inoculation facilities – when administering the jabs at the various institutions and organisations, so as to deal with the possibility that someone could suffer an acute adverse event following his or her COVID-19 vaccination.
The Health Bureau said earlier this month that Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate was still low as many residents did not think that there’s any urgency to be inoculated against COVID-19 due to the city’s stable novel coronavirus situation.
Since last month, the bureau has been asking public entities, schools, social service organisations and community associations to arrange for their respective staff members to get the government’s COVID-19 jabs collectively – i.e. organising their staff members to undergo collective vaccinations at the government’s vaccination facilities.
During yesterday’s press conference, Tai underlined that his bureau has constantly been studying the possible launch of “outreach” COVID-19 vaccination services for certain institutions and organisations. Tai said that after a careful study, his bureau has concluded that with the aim of raising Macau’s COVID-19 inoculation rate, “outreach” COVID-19 vaccination services “are worth” rolling out. “We are planning the launch of the outreach vaccination services,” he said.
According to Tai, his bureau’s imminent on-site COVID-19 vaccination services will be carried out for young people first, students at universities in particular, adding the on-site inoculation services at retirement homes will be carried out later.
Tai said that his bureau has concluded that its on-site COVID-19 vaccinations should not be carried out for senior citizens first due to Macau’s stable COVID-19 situation.
“We will consider carrying out on-site COVID-19 vaccinations in retirement homes, but at least I can tell you that they will not be the first [to receive the on-site services],” Tai said.
“As Macau’s COVID-19 situation is stable, senior citizens are not our first choice for the on-site services. Just like in our COVID-19 vaccination programme, priority is given to those under the age of 60,” Tai said.
“We will first choose young people for our upcoming outreach COVID-19 vaccination services. In particular, we plan to visit universities first to inoculate students there,” Tai said.
We will add retirement homes at a later stage, when [Macau’s] vaccination rate reaches a certain level,” Tai said.
Macau has not recorded a new COVID-19 case for four days, while no local case has been confirmed in 379 days.
Macau has recorded 49 COVID-19 cases since January 22 last year, 47 of which have been classified as imported, while two cases have been classified as “connected to imported cases”. Among the 49 patients, 48 have been cured and discharged from hospital, and no fatalities have been reported in Macau.
The 49th COVID-19 was confirmed last Wednesday. The patient is still undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre.
Quarantine escapee saga explained
Meanwhile, Ma Chio Hong, who heads the Operations and Communications Division of the Public Security Police (PSP), said during yesterday’s press conference that the 77-year-old local man who escaped from quarantine at the Pousada Marina Infante hotel in Cotai on Friday last week was caught by the police in the lobby of a building in the peninsula’s Rua do Campo at around 11 p.m. on the same day.
Ma said that he did not have any information about the man’s whereabouts during his escape before he was caught by the police.
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau’s Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou revealed during the press conference that the 77-year-old man had insisted that he did not need to undergo hotel quarantine following his return to Macau as he had not entered Hong Kong’s territory after he did not accept the neighbouring special administrative region’s quarantine measure and therefore chose to return to Macau.
However, according to Leong, the Health Bureau had concluded that the man – despite the fact he did not enter Hong Kong at the Hong Kong checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) – needed to undergo his 14-day hotel quarantine following his return to Macau as he had stayed at the HZMB Hong Kong checkpoint for a while where he was possibly in touch with Hong Kong people, apart from the fact that he was in touch with people from Hong Kong when he was on a shuttle bus on his way back to Macau on the bridge.
According to Leong, Health Bureau staff had clearly explained to the man why he needed to undergo quarantine following his return to Macau. At that time, he told the staff that he understood the reasons for having to undergo quarantine. “Maybe he suddenly thought that he did not need to undergo quarantine, and then did not want to continue the quarantine and chose to leave the hotel, after undergoing quarantine for a few days,” Leong said.
Tai Wa Hou, the coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) COVID-19 vaccination programme, addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Photo: Tony Wong
