From 9 p.m. yesterday, only six general testing stations (where the tests are free of charge) and three self-paid testing stations remain open during the last 24 hours of the ongoing three-day mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, which is slated to end at 9 p.m. today.
The six general testing stations which remain in operation are 1) the Workers Stadium next to the Barrier Gate border checkpoint, 2) the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) in Nape, 3) the free-of-charge section of the Macau Forum complex in Zape, 4) the Activity Centre of the Patane Market Municipal Complex, 5) the Mong Ha Sports Centre, and 6) the Olympic Sports Centre in Taipa.
The three self-paid stations are 1) the self-paid section of the Macau Forum complex, 2) Kuok Kim Medical Centre (Macau) located in the Brilliance Group Commercial Centre in Nape, and 3) the NAT station at the Macau-side checkpoint zone of the mainland-Macau joint border checkpoint in Hengqin, which is run by Namyue Medical Technology Company Limited.
The ongoing third round of the mandatory mass NAT drive had 41 testing stations during the first 48 hours of the programme – from 9 p.m. on Monday to 9 p.m. yesterday. The 41 stations comprised 31 general stations, three self-paid stations and seven special care stations. All local residents and people staying in Macau are required to get the test, which is free of charge.
A nucleic acid test costs 70 patacas at self-paid stations.
Macau’s first mass NAT drive in August and the second one last month only produced negative results.
The results of the tests carried out at general stations will not be uploaded to the Macau Health Code, which means that they cannot be used for immigration purposes, while the results of the tests carried out at self-paid stations will be uploaded to the Macau Health Code for immigration purposes. Prior booking is required for both general testing stations and self-paid testing stations. The seven special-care testing stations, which had been running until 9 p.m. yesterday, provided walk-in tests for people in need of special care who were unable to make a prior booking.
A health worker takes a swab from a girl for a COVID-19 test at one of the government’s testing stations under its ongoing three-day mass nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive on Tuesday. Photo: GCS
540,813 results available last night, all negative
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said in statement last night that as of 9 p.m. yesterday tests in the ongoing mass NAT drive “have basically been completed”. The statement said that as of 9 p.m. yesterday, 673,881 people had had their swabs collected for COVID-19 tests under the citywide NAT programme, 540,813 of which had their results available – all of which were negative.
Since the ongoing third round of the mass NAT drive was launched on Monday, the Health Bureau had urged residents to participate in the mass NAT drive within the first 48 hours of the programme, even though the drive is scheduled to last 72 hours, with the aim of all results being available earlier so that the bureau would be able to complete its risk assessment of Macau’s latest COVID-19 situation earlier and, if needed, roll out new COVID-19 prevention and control measures accordingly.
The government launched a three-day mass NAT drive for the third time on Monday shortly after the confirmation of a COVID-19 renovation worker cluster, which comprised four novel coronavirus patients as of last night.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday afternoon that as the mass testing was expected to be “basically completed” before 9 p.m. yesterday, only several testing stations would remain in operation after 9 p.m. yesterday, i.e., during the last 24 hours of the programme. During yesterday evening’s regular press conference by the centre, Tai Wa Hou, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, announced the names of the six general testing stations that will remain in operation until 9 p.m. today.
According to a follow-up statement by the centre last night, the three self-paid testing stations which have been running since the launch of the ongoing mass NAT programme will also remain in operation until 9 p.m. today.
The centre also reaffirmed last night that the Macau Health Code of those who fail to undergo the mandatory tests under the mass NAT programme within the 72-hour period, which ends at 9 p.m. today, will become yellow – which bars them from leaving Macau, entering various premises in the city, and using public transport, urging those who have still not undergone their test to get tested before the deadline.
Replying to media questions during yesterday’s press conference, Tai said that at the beginning – when the ongoing mass NAT drive was launched, the Health Bureau had already reaffirmed that while the programme is scheduled to last three days, it aimed to complete all tests within the first two days. Therefore, Tai said, the last day of the programme merely aims to enable those who were “really” unable to participate in the mass NAT drive within the first 48 hours due to various reasons to get tested during the last 24 hours.
‘Waste of resources’
In reply to media questions about the fact that the government had failed to announce at the beginning of the third round of tests that some of the testing stations would be closed after the first 48 hours, Tai said that the Health Bureau had from the outset urged residents to get tested during the first 48 hours, adding that how many testing stations should remain in operation during the last 24 hours would depend on the number of people who have still not undergone a test and the availability of the medical human resources. Tai said that the Health Bureau expected that 10,000 to 20,000 people had still not been tested by 9 p.m. yesterday.
Tai said that considering that relatively few people had still not been tested during the first 48 hours, it would be a “waste of resources” if all the 41 testing stations were to remain operational during the last 24 hours.
Tai added that the health workers who have been working for the ongoing mass NAT drive would need to rest sufficiently in good preparation for the possible launch of the fourth and even the fifth rounds of the mandatory mass NAT programme.
The centre also announced that from yesterday afternoon, people do not need to make a prior booking for a COVID-19 test at the general testing stations as long as the expected waiting time is less than 15 minutes. The requirement to make a prior booking for a test at self-paid testing stations remains in force, the centre said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Tai also announced that all four cases of the COVID-19 renovation worker cluster have been classified as “connected to an imported case” – a local resident from Turkey who was diagnosed with COVID-19 on September 24. He was confirmed as Macau’s 64th COVID-19 case.
The Health Bureau has classified all the six cases of a COVID-19 quarantine hotel security staff cluster, which was confirmed last month, as “connected to the 64th case”.
Consequently, all the 10 cases in the two clusters have been classified as “connected to the 64th case” – the local resident holding Turkish nationality who had been quarantined at the Golden Crown China Hotel in Taipa.
Tai noted yesterday that Macau’s total of 75 COVID-19 cases now comprise 60 imported cases and 15 cases “connected to imported ones”.
