There were still long queues outside testing stations at Sport Centres and hotels after 8 p.m. yesterday, and some testees told The Macau Post Daily long waits would not stop them from having their nucleic acid test (NAT).
Last night at 8 p.m. there was a long queue outside the Olympic Sports Centre in Taipa which went beyond Macau Sam Yuk Middle School, and one of the police officers at the station in the sports centre told The Macau Post Daily that there were around 1,000 people there and the wait would be at least two hours.
In the queue, there were two hotel staff members who got there at 8 p.m. Both said that their company asked them to be tested every day. They said that they would need it for work tomorrow so they had to queue despite its length. Both said that they went there right after work and had not had their dinner yet. They also pointed out that if they got tested at 10 p.m. they would have little time to rest before work starting at 7a.m. tomorrow (today).
There was also a family of four and their domestic helper in the queue outside the station. The mother said that she was not worried about her children being bored because they had brought chairs and were “just watching the Olympics Games” on their smartphones. When asked whether she was worried about the COVID-19 situation in Macau, she admitted that she was worried that it would affect her children. She also pointed out that she still had to go to work and could only get tested at night.
Meanwhile, the daughter of the family told The Macau Post Daily that she was not worried about the COVID-19 pandemic as she was more worried about having the test.
An Indian non-resident worker was about to enter the sports centre at 8:30 p.m., and he noted that he waited about 1 1/2 hour to be at the spot. However, he saw that the queue continued inside and expected to wait for another hour. He said that he was worried about the COVID-19 situation in Macau but was quick to add that he has faith in the government and appreciated its quick responses.
At Broadway Hotel testing station at 8:45 p.m. one of the staff members told The Macau Post Daily that the hotel suddenly changed its station’s opening hours from being open 24 hours to closing at midnight. There were testees who had booked for a late-night appointment arriving at the venue just to find out why they could not get tested today (yesterday) and had to go to the station at 9 a.m. today. The staff member noted that the wait at 9 p.m. yesterday would be about two and a half hours, adding that there were four medical workers performing the test.
The Venetian Macao faced some technical difficulties at 9:20 p.m. and its testing station could not print the test results in paper form for visitors who needed it for their flights back home.
The test is mandatory for anyone planning to leave Macau.
A number of people were trying to book their appointments when they arrived at the station, however many found out that they could only book an appointment for Saturday (August 7). However, when The Macau Post Daily tried to get more information about the queuing time and situation at the station, a Venetian staff member refused to let us interview people or take pictures of the queue.
A Filipina maid told The Macau Post Daily that she waited five hours to be tested at Estrela do Mar (“Sea Star”) Middle School last night. She said she had arrived there at 9 p.m. and got tested at about 2 a.m. However, she said the long wait was worthwhile as it was “good for me and Macau”.
People are lining up outside D. Bosco College Sports Centre in the rain last night.
A few people who did not schedule an appointment are asking for assistance outside the testing station at the Venetian in Cotai.
People who were able to get an appointment at the Broadway Hotel are waiting for their Nucleic Acid Tests (NATs). –Photos: Prisca Tang
