The 62-year-old local man returning to Macau from the United States whose asymptomatic COVID-19 case was announced on Tuesday has now been diagnosed with carrying the Omicron variant, Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday.
It is Macau’s second Omicron variant case in as many days, a statement by the centre noted.
The centre said that at the time of its statement, which was released last night, the case was still asymptomatic as the man had still not come down with any COVID-19 symptoms – because of which the case has not been added to the city’s novel coronavirus tally.
Consequently, Macau’s COVID-19 tally remains at 78.
The man flew from Los Angeles to Singapore on Christmas Day and took a connecting flight from Singapore to Macau on Monday where he tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival. His condition has been classified as an imported case.
Yesterday’s statement noted that the Health Bureau (SSM) then carried out viral genome sequencing for the case, which came up with the result yesterday confirming the man’s infection with the Omicron variant, the second case of its kind detected in Macau.
The statement reaffirmed that the Omicron variant is even more contagious than Delta, urging Macau residents who are currently staying in a foreign country to avoid unnecessary travel.
Macau confirmed its first Omicron variant case on Monday, which raised its COVID-19 tally to 78. The patient, a 23-year-old local resident studying in New York, also arrived in Macau from the US via Singapore. He has meanwhile come down with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Macau Health Bureau began early this month to separately classify and announce asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
