Addressing yesterday evening’s press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation, Tai Wa Hou, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said that considering that everyone in Macau has tested negative for COVID-19 during the three-day mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive – which ended at 9 a.m. on Saturday, the government would not launch a second round of mass nucleic acid tests (NATs) if no COVID positive cases are detected among those directly affected by the Delta variant family cluster up to 14 days after the four family members were confirmed as COVID-19 patients early last week – such as those undergoing hotel quarantine after having been in close contact with the four and those living in the city’s two locked-down areas.
The government’s three-day mass NAT drive started at 9 a.m. on Wednesday last week after Macau confirmed four COVID-19 cases the day before, a family of four comprising a couple and their two children, a schoolboy and a schoolgirl.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in the wee hours of yesterday that 614,465 people were tested for COVID-19 during the three-day citywide NAT drive. Moreover, 101,786 people were tested outside the mass testing programme between Tuesday last week and 9 a.m. on Saturday. The centre said that the results of all the 716,251 were confirmed at around 2 a.m. yesterday as negative.
It was Macau’s first citywide disease testing in its history.
The two COVID-19 locked-down areas (red code zones) cover the building where the four-member family usually live (Mei Lin Building in Rua de Coelho do Amaral) and two adjacent buildings, as well as the building where the fruit shop – where the woman patient usually works – is located and the shops nearby.
According to Health Bureau (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou, at the time of yesterday’s press conference a total of 1,018 people were undergoing hotel quarantine due to the COVID-19 family cluster, comprising 77 who had been in close contact with the family cluster, 594 “secondary COVID-19 close contacts”, 164 whose Guangdong Health Code colour was indicating red, 31 who had visited either of the two red code zones, 150 who had visited the same places as the four COVID-19 patients at the same time, and two who had been transferred to hotel quarantine from their homes in the red code zones due to the “unsuitable home environment” for quarantine.
“A close contact of a close contact” of a confirmed COVID-19 patient is known as a “secondary COVID-19 close contact”.
In addition, according to Leong, 286 residents were undergoing home quarantine in the two red code zones.
Those living in the two zones are forbidden from leaving their homes during the lockdown period.
In addition, five other buildings near Mei Lin Building are covered by a yellow code zone – i.e. the Macau Health Code colour of residents living there is now indicating yellow.
Those in hotel quarantine due to the COVID-19 family cluster, those living in the two red code zones and those living in the yellow code zone are subject to a number of follow-up nucleic acid tests.
The Health Bureau said last week that the two red code zones and the yellow code zone would remain in force for 14 days after the four family members’ confirmation as COVID-19 patients on Tuesday last week.
During yesterday’s press conference, Tai said that after assessing Macau’s current COVID-19 situation overall and considering that all results of the three-day mass NAT drive were negative, the Health Bureau has determined that it would not carry out a second round of mass testing if no COVID-19 positive cases are detected among those affected by the Delta variant family cluster, namely those in hotel quarantine due to the COVID-19 family cluster, those living in the two red codes and those living in the yellow code zone.
Tai also said the first round of mass testing has “surely” cost the government a large amount of money “Merely the expense for human resources is a large amount,” Tai said.
Post-mass testing yellow code
Meanwhile, Tai also announced that the Macau Health Code colour of about 7,600 people had become yellow after the government mass NAT drive ended at 9 p.m. on Saturday for various reasons (including a 12-hour reprieve for stragglers after the programme’s scheduled conclusion at 9 a.m. on Saturday).
In addition to those failing to undergo the free tests within the 72-hour mass testing period, the about 7,600 people included about 2,000 non-locals (almost all of them non-resident workers) who made an appointment for their tests with their blue-card number instead of the ID number of their border entry-exit document (ID document used for entering and leaving Macau).
For both the government’s regular NAT programme and its completed three-day mass NAT drive, non-locals (including non-resident workers) in Macau have been required to make an appointment with the ID number of their border entry-exit document. However, some non-resident workers reportedly made an appointment with their blue-card number, but medical workers at the testing stations tested them nevertheless.
Tai said yesterday that as the non-resident workers had used their blue-card number instead of the ID number of their border entry-exit document, the Macau Health Code system could not identify them, because of which, Tai said, their Macau Health Code colour had turned yellow – despite the fact that they underwent the mass testing.
Tai said that the Health Bureau has contacted the non-resident workers whose Macau Health Code colour had turned yellow due to the ID information issue. According to Tai, some of them have had their Macau Health Code colour returned to green after the Health Bureau had been able to verify that they had undergone the test. However, Tai said, the bureau has been unable to verify whether some of them had undergone the COVID-19 tests under the citywide NAT drive, because of which, Tai said, they are required to undergo a paid test before their Macau Health Code colour can revert to green.
The centre announced on Saturday that those who had failed to undergo the mass tests before 9 a.m. on Saturday were required to undergo a paid test at the city’s five regular NAT stations before 9 p.m. on Saturday, otherwise their Macau Health Code colour would become yellow.
Tai said yesterday that among the about 7,600, some 1,000 whose Macau Health Code colour had turned yellow had later undergone a paid test, because of which their health code colour has meanwhile returned to green.
Tai said that as of 4 p.m. yesterday, the Macau Health Code colour of 4,704 people in Macau – comprising 2,259 Macau residents and 2,445 non-local residents – was indicating yellow due to their failure to undergo the free mass tests, or the required follow-up paid tests. Tai underlined that their health code colour would remain yellow until they go for undergo a paid test – provided it comes up with a negative result.
According to Tai, the Health Bureau will send an SMS to all those who have not undergone a nucleic acid test, urging them to get tested as soon as possible. In addition, Tai said, the Health Bureau will contact them asking them why they had not undergone the COVID-19 test.
For those who had not undergone the test due to reduced mobility or other special reasons, Tai said that Health Bureau and Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) staff will visit their flats to carry out the tests there.
For those who still refuse to undergo a test after the Health Bureau contacts them, the bureau will ask the police to locate them and transfer them to a testing site where they will have to stay until their negative result has come up, according to Tai.
According to Tai, those who continue to refuse to be tested for COVID-19 after being located by the police will be transferred to hotel quarantine for 14 days. If they refuse to undergo hotel quarantine, Tai said, the authorities will impose “mandatory quarantine” on them.
3 bus rides
Meanwhile, during yesterday’s press conference Leong urged those who had caught any of three buses with the woman from the family cluster to contact the authorities.
The three buses, according to Leong, were a route-17 bus at 4.11 p.m. on July 27, a route-19 bus at 8.52 p.m. on August 1 and a route 17-bus at 10.55 p.m. on the same day.
According to Leong, the Health Bureau has identified some of the passengers on the three buses whose MACAU Pass has been registered with their name (i.e. real-name registration) and has contacted them. Leong urged the passengers on the three buses whose MACAU Pass has not been registered to contact the authorities.
Vaccinations resumed
Meanwhile, the government’s COVID-19 vaccinations were fully resumed yesterday, after a four-day suspension from Wednesday to Saturday last week due to the citywide testing.
Tai said yesterday that the government believes that the current COVID-19 situation in Macau would encourage residents to be inoculated against COVID-19. Tai also said that the government expects another 200,000 doses of Sinopharm inactivated vaccine to be delivered to Macau from Beijing in a few days.
This undated handout photo released by the Government Information Bureau (GCS) on Saturday shows a staff member working in the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Public Health Laboratory, one of the city’s several laboratories which had generated results of COVID-19 tests under the government’s three-day mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive last week.
Tai Wai Hou (left), one of the three clinical directors of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, speaks during yesterday’s press conference about the city’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, as Health Bureau (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou looks on. Photo: Tony Wong
