The Macau government yesterday urged residents to take additional precautionary measures when collecting and unpacking parcels received from overseas, in the wake of COVID-19 cases reported in the mainland recently in which patients were infected with the Omicron variant after touching parcels delivered from overseas.
Beijing health officials announced yesterday that they did not rule out the possibility that a new COVID-19 patient – a local Omicron case announced on Saturday – was infected with the variant due to his job that involves the collection of letters and parcel from foreign countries.
Zhuhai health officials also announced yesterday that they did not rule out the possibility that a patient whose Omicron case was confirmed last week caught the virus after touching items delivered from overseas. According to the officials, the patient, who works as a customer service representative, often touched items delivered from foreign countries.
In a statement yesterday, Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said that in a number of recent Omicron cases announced by the mainland health authorities, the COVID-19 patients had touched international delivery parcels whose environmental samples tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The statement said that in the wake of the situation, the centre is urging residents to comply with five measures when handing letters and parcels delivered from overseas.
5 prevention measures
Firstly, residents should avoid buying goods online delivered through a courier service from areas seriously affected by COVID-19, particularly from countries and regions that are hit by widespread community transmissions, and for goods which are often kept under a low temperature during their delivery process, the statement said.
Secondly, the statement urged residents to properly wear a facemask and disposable gloves when collecting letters and parcels delivered from areas seriously affected by COVID-19, so as to avoid touching the items directly with their hands.
Thirdly, residents should collect their letters and parcels at a fixed collection point with the aim of avoiding contacts with other people. In case residents need to sign to confirm their acceptance of a parcel, according to the statement, they should keep social distancing vis-à-vis the couriers.
Fourthly, the statement urged residents to try to unpack their parcel at the balcony – if they have one – in their home. Before taking the parcel to their home, residents should disinfect the outer packaging first such as by using 75 percent alcohol, the statement said.
Fifthly, residents should immediately remove their gloves after handling their parcels, disinfect or wash their hands carefully, and remove and change to a new facemask, the statement said, urging them not to touch their mouth, eyes and nose with their unclean hands.
In a statement yesterday, the Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) also urged residents to comply with similar measures laid out by yesterday’s statement by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, when collecting their letters and parcels at the city’s post offices.
The CTT statement pledged that the bureau has strengthened its disinfection of letters and parcels delivered to Macau, with the aim of preventing COVID-19 spread in the community resulting from contaminated letters and parcels, because of which, the statement said, the bureau’s deliveries would possibly be delayed for a while, urging residents to show understanding.
15 COVID-19 cases in Zhuhai as of last night
As of last night, the adjacent city of Zhuhai had reported a total of 15 COVID-19 positive cases, including one asymptomatic case, during its current Omicron wave, which started last week. All of the patients live in Nanping (南屏) town, which only lies a few kilometres northwest of Macau.
The validity of the negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result for those entering Macau from Zhuhai has been shortened to just 24 hours, which took effect on Sunday, in the wake of the current COVID-19 outbreak in the neighbouring city, because of which Macau health officials have been warning that the city is facing a higher COVID-19 risk, and urging residents – those commuting daily between the two cities in particular – to stick to personal protection measures such as properly wearing a facemask, and avoid attending events involving crowd gatherings such as wedding and other kinds of banquets, as well as other lunch and dinner parties.
The Macau government has been accelerating its campaign to promote the use of the Macau Health Code mobile app’s contact tracing function, which was rolled out in November, since earlier this month, partially in the wake of an increasing COVID-19 risk to Macau from the ongoing rapid and serious spread of the Omicron variant worldwide and from recent novel coronavirus waves in neighbouring regions hit by Omicron.
After Zhuhai started to be hit by new local COVID-19 cases late last week, the Macau government has been continuing to intensify its campaign for the use of the contact tracing function, such as a mandatory requirement for all those entering the government’s public service facilities and other public entities’ offices to use the function, which took effect yesterday.
Meanwhile, the number of residents downloading the Macau Health Code mobile app had been increasing slowly since its launch in November, but since early this month the number of downloads has started to see a much faster increase. According to a government statement last night, around 514,000 smartphone users had downloaded the app as of 5 p.m. yesterday. The statement urged residents to help senior citizens download the app and teach them how to use it.
People queue to be tested for COVID-19 at a sampling site in Nanping town in Zhuhai early this week. Photo: Xinhua
