Four more arrivals from Hong Kong have tested positive for COVID-19, Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre has announced.
The centre has classified the four cases as imported and asymptomatic, because of which they have not been added to Macau’s novel coronavirus tally, which therefore remains at 79.
The four patients comprise a 59-year-old local man, a 52-year-old Hong Kong woman, a 10-year-old boy from Hong Kong, and a 69-year-old local man.
According to a statement by the centre on Friday, the 59-year-old man received three shots of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, in April, May and December respectively.
The man travelled from Hong Kong to Macau on a shuttle bus (aka Golden Bus) via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) on Monday last week, and tested negative for the novel coronavirus upon arrival here, after which he was transferred to Pousada Marina Infante – one of the government’s “quarantine hotels” – for medical observation. He still tested negative for COVID-19 in two follow-up tests, on Wednesday and Thursday last week. However, according to the statement, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a follow-up test on Friday.
The man has been transferred to the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for isolation treatment.
According to a statement by the centre on Saturday, the woman received her first and second Sinovac inactivated jab in Hong Kong in December and last month respectively, while the boy has not been inoculated against COVID-19.
The 52-year-old woman and the 10-year-old boy travelled to Macau on a Golden Bus on Sunday last week with the 41-year-old Hong Kong woman whose asymptomatic COVID-19 case was announced on Wednesday, according to the statement.
The statement did not specify the boy’s relationship to the two women.
Upon arrival in Macau, the trio were transferred to Regency Art Hotel – one of the government’s “quarantine hotels” – for medical observation, where they are staying in the same guestroom, the statement said.
As the 41-year-old woman tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday and was then transferred from the hotel to the Public Health Clinical Centre for isolation treatment, the 52-year-old woman and the 10-year-old boy were then classified as COVID-19 close contacts of the 41-year-old woman, because of which, Saturday’s statement said, both were then also transferred to the Public Health Clinical Centre for quarantine.
According to a statement by the centre last night, the 69-year-old man received his first and second Sinopharm inactivated jab in Macau in March and April last year respectively, before receiving a Sinopharm booster jab here in December.
The man travelled to Macau on a Golden Bus yesterday evening, and tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival here, because of which he has been transferred to the Public Health Clinical Centre for isolation treatment.
Macau has been constantly seeing COVID-19 positive cases imported from Hong Kong since early last week. The most recent three cases, which were announced on Friday and Saturday, came after the detection of three COVID-19 positive cases in Macau imported from the neighbouring special administrative region earlier last week, two Hong Kong men and the 41-year-old Hong Kong woman. The two men are non-resident workers employed in Macau.
3 returnees from UK & Sweden have COVID-19
Meanwhile, three local residents who returned to Macau on Saturday from the United Kingdom and Sweden via Singapore have tested positive for COVID-19, the centre announced yesterday.
The three cases have also been classified as imported and asymptomatic, because of which they have also not been added to Macau’s COVID-19 tally.
The three patients comprise a 51-year-old woman, a 55-year-old woman and a 58-year-old man.
According to a statement by the centre yesterday, the 51-year-old woman received her first and second BioNTech mRNA jab in Macau in March and April last year respectively, before receiving a BioNTech booster jab here in December.
The woman tested negative for COVID-19 in a nucleic acid test (NAT) in Sweden on Thursday. She flew from Stockholm to Denmark’s Copenhagen the next day and caught a flight to Singapore, before returning to Macau on a connecting flight on Saturday, the statement said.
The woman “weakly” tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival at the local airport, because of which she has been transferred to the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for isolation treatment.
According to the same statement yesterday, the 55-year-old woman received her first and second Sinopharm inactivated jab in Macau in February and March last year respectively, before receiving a BioNTech mRNA booster jab here in November – “mixing and matching” her booster jab.
The woman tested negative for COVID-19 in a nucleic acid test in the UK on Wednesday. She flew to Singapore on Friday and caught a connecting flight to Macau the next day, the statement said.
The woman also tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival at the local airport on Saturday, because of which she has also been transferred to the Public Health Clinical Centre for isolation treatment.
The centre announced the 58-year-old man’s case in another statement last night, according to which he returned to Macau from the UK with the 55-year-old woman.
According to the statement, the man also received his first and second Sinopharm jab in Macau in February and March last year respectively, before receiving a BioNTech booster jab here in November.
The statement noted that as the 55-year-old woman tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday, the man – who tested negative for COVID-19 upon arrival at the local airport on Saturday – was then classified as her COVID-19 close contact, because of which he was then also transferred to the Public Health Clinical Centre for quarantine.
However, according to last night’s statement, the man tested positive for the novel coronavirus yesterday, because of which he is continuing his stay at the Public Health Clinical Centre for isolation treatment.
21 Omicron, 2 Delta cases since last month
Meanwhile, the centre pointed out in a statement yesterday that Macau has reported 23 COVID-19 positive cases that have been classified as imported and asymptomatic since last month, 21 of which are Omicron cases – accounting for 91.3 percent of the total, while the remaining two are Delta cases.
The statement noted that the two Delta variant cases were reported early last month, while all cases that have been detected since January 7 are Omicron variant cases.
Macau’s ‘urgent’ jab appeal amid HK outbreak
Meanwhile, over the weekend the Macau government has repeatedly and strongly urged those who have still not been inoculated against COVID-19 to get vaccinated as soon as possible in wake of the fact that Macau is facing a “constantly increasing” risk of suffering COVID-19 community transmissions due to Hong Kong’s ongoing “massive” COVID-19 outbreak.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre made the “urgent” vaccination appeal in several statements over the weekend.
The statements noted that Hong Kong has now reported more and more new COVID-19 serious and death cases, affecting senior citizens in particular, adding that serious and fatal cases in Hong Kong have also included children.
The statements noted that Macau has been reporting COVID-19 positive cases imported from Hong Kong amid the ongoing “massive” outbreak there, because of which the risk of the occurrence of COVID-19 community transmissions in Macau has now been constantly increasing.
According to the statements, the ongoing COVID-19 threat to Macau from Hong Kong is more prominent considering Macau’s still low COVID-19 vaccination rates amongst children and senior citizens.
As of Thursday, the statements said, Macau’s inoculation rates stood at only 6.7 percent amongst those aged between 3 and 11; 45.7 percent amongst those aged from 70 to 79; and 17.9 percent amongst those aged 80 or over.
The statements also urged eligible individuals, namely all those aged 18 or over who received their second COVID-19 jab at least six months ago, to get their booster shot as soon as possible.
The statements warned that in case Macau faces an even higher COVID-19 risk, the Macau government will roll out “strict” COVID-19 prevention measures, which, the statements said, will “cause inconvenience” to those who have still not been inoculated against the novel coronavirus.
The statements also dismissed the “wrong” view that it is not suitable for senior citizens and those with chronic diseases to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying that they should be even more willing to get inoculated. The statements also noted that cancer patients can also be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
The statements also said that the government has sent an SMS to those aged 50 or over who have still not been inoculated against COVID-19, urging them to get vaccinated.
Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rates amongst young and middle-aged people are high, exceeding 90 percent.
Stronger jab campaign for schoolchildren
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) said in statement yesterday that it has requested all local schools to “actively” comply with the government’s work on promoting COVID-19 vaccinations amongst schoolchildren. The statement said that the bureau has ordered local schools to ask the parents of their students whether they will arrange for their children to get vaccinated.
The statement said that schools should register the names of their students who have still not been vaccinated, and ask their parents every week to report whether their children have already been inoculated.
Construction crew work at the site of a temporary isolation facility for COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong yesterday, which is being set up next to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. Photo: AFP
