The nearly 56,000 results available as of late last night of COVID-19 tests from yesterday’s one-day nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive for those living near the city’s red code zones (COVID-19 lockdown areas), as well as tests carried out for other “high-risk” target groups, were all negative, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced.
The mandatory key-area tests started at 9 a.m. and ended at 11:59 p.m. yesterday.
The COVID-19 testing round, officially known as “key area” nucleic acid testing programme, was announced during a special press conference by the centre on Saturday night.
Yesterday’s testing drive covered people living near the several red code zones related to the city’s 72nd, 73rd and 75th COVID-19 cases.
Residents enter the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion, one of the government’s testing stations under its key-area nucleic acid testing (NAT) drive, for a COVID-19 test yesterday. Photo: GCS
Yesterday’s testing covered those living in the key areas between September 26 and October 4, according to the centre.
The key areas’ residents were notified by the Health Bureau (SSM) by SMS based on their home addresses added to the Macau Health Code system.
During Saturday’s press conference, Tai Wa Hou, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said that the aim of the one-day mandatory tests was to discover possible hidden cases while the COVID-19 incubation period was still on, with the aim of preparing the necessarily “good” conditions for Macau to resume normal life in various aspects, provided that all the test results are negative, such as the full resumption of business and economic activities, the restoration of recreational and sports activities, the resumption of classes in schools, and the restoration of normal cross-border movement of people with Guangdong province.
The centre had also urged people who do not live in the key areas but stayed there for prolonged periods of time, such as for work and other activities, between September 26 and October 4, as well as those who used public bus routes 1, 7, 8, 10, 12, 18, 19, 21A, 23, 25, 25B, 51A and AP1 during that timespan, to volunteer to be tested as well yesterday, particularly those who were not wearing a facemask while staying there.
“They are welcome to undergo the tests if they think they have incurred a higher risk [of having been infected with COVID-19],” Tai said during Saturday’s press conference.
Yesterday’s mandatory tests for those living in the key areas, which were free of charge, were carried out at 12 general testing stations and one special-care testing stations.
Macau has so far carried out three mandatory citywide NAT rounds, which all produced only negative results. Yesterday’s tests were the city’s first neighbourhood-specific, “key-area” NAT drive.
The centre said that the Macau Health Code colour of those who failed to undergo the mandatory tests yesterday will become yellow 24 hours after the end of the testing drive at 11:59 p.m. yesterday, which bars them from leaving Macau, entering various premises in the city, and using public transport.
Those whose Macau Health Code colour has become yellow due to their failure to undergo the mandatory tests will only have their health code colour return to green after undergoing a COVID-19 test at their own cost of 70 patacas at the city’s regular NAT stations. During the 24-hour transition period while the health code colour is still green, they will have to pay to undergo a nucleic acid test as the mandatory testing programme ended at 11:59 p.m. yesterday.
Macau’s COVID-19 tally stands at 77, without any fatalities. Macau has a population of about 680,000.
The government’s ongoing mandatory high-frequency NAT drive for “high-risk” target groups comprising non-resident workers from Nepal and Vietnam, and local and non-local renovation and laundry workers and security guards, which started about a week ago, is slated to end tomorrow night. The government has extended the programme for the five target groups, which was initially slated to also end yesterday, for two more days due to one-day suspension of nucleic acid testing in the city last week due to Typhoon Kompasu.
According to a statement by the centre at around 0:30 a.m. today, 56,130 people had their swabs taken under the “key area” NAT drive as of 11:59 p.m. yesterday, when the programme ended. A total of 24,322 people from other “important” groups of people, such as those participating in the ongoing “high-frequency” testing programme for the five target groups and those living in the city’s red code zones and yellow code zones that had remained in force as of yesterday, had also had their COVID-19 swabs taken yesterday, the statement said.
Among the 80,452 tests taken yesterday, the statement said, 55,961 results were available as of 11:59 p.m., all of which were negative, the statement said.
