Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday that three more arrivals from Hong Kong have tested positive for COVID-19, one of whom has meanwhile been diagnosed with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus after coming down with COVID-19 symptoms, which raised Macau’s novel coronavirus tally to 82.
The other two cases have been classified as asymptomatic. All the three cases have been classified as imported from Hong Kong.
Since December last year, the Macau government has separately classified and announced asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The centre identified the latest confirmed COVID-19 patient – Macau’s 82nd novel coronavirus case – as a 62-year-old local man who received three shots of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, in July, August last year and January this year respectively.
According to a statement by the centre last night, 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.
Negative in 7 follow-up tests before positive
The man continued to have negative results for COVID-19 in seven follow-up tests, on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week, as well as Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this week. However, according to the statement, he showed positive for the novel coronavirus in a follow-up test yesterday.
The man, who has come down with cough, has been transferred to the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for isolation treatment.
The two asymptomatic COVID-19 patients that arrived from Hong Kong comprise a 63-year-old local man and a six-year-old local boy.
According to a statement by the centre yesterday, the 63-year-old man received his first and second Sinopharm inactivated jab in Macau in December and January respectively. He travelled to Macau on a Golden Bus on Sunday last week, and tested negative for the novel coronavirus upon arrival here, after which he was transferred to Pousada Marina Infante hotel for medical observation.
The man continued to show negative results for COVID-19 in six follow-up tests, on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week, as well as on Sunday and Monday this week. However, according to the statement, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a follow-up test on Tuesday.
According to another statement by the centre yesterday, the six-year-old boy, who has not been inoculated against COVID-19, travelled from Hong Kong to Macau by car via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) on February 19 with his mother and domestic helper. He tested negative for the novel coronavirus upon arrival here, after which he was transferred to Pousada Marina Infante hotel for medical observation.
The boy continued to show negative results for COVID-19 in seven follow-up tests, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday last week, as well as Sunday and Monday this week. However, according to the statement, he tested positive for the novel coronavirus in a follow-up test on Tuesday.
Both asymptomatic COVID-19 patients have been transferred to Public Health Clinical Centre for isolation treatment.
In addition to the total of 82 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the centre pointed out yesterday that Macau has reported a total of 37 asymptomatic COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
Since February 21, all those aged 12 or over departing for Macau from Hong Kong and Taiwan have to present a certificate confirming that they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 at least 14 days prior, i.e., having developed basic full immunity, or a doctor’s certificate confirming that they are unable to be inoculated against the novel coronavirus. Their last required shot of a novel coronavirus vaccine must have been administered within seven months prior to departing for Macau.
780 who queued near Tanzhou woman at checkpoint must undergo 5 tests
Meanwhile, the Macau government announced last night that around 780 people who were identified as having queued near the Tanzhou (坦洲) woman when crossing the Barrier Gate checkpoint must undergo five COVID-19 tests over a period until March 13.
In the wake of the detection on Monday of the asymptomatic COVID-19 case of the 45-year-old woman living in Zhongshan city’s Tanzhou town, the Macau government tested around 7,100 people living or working near the Barrier Gate Plaza for COVID-19, between 5 p.m. on Monday and 12 p.m. on Tuesday, and all of them have come up with a negative result.
The Tanzhou woman, a mainlander holding a travel permit for visiting relatives in Macau, engaged in Macau-Zhuhai cross-border parallel-trading (colloquially known as “soi hak” in Cantonese) activities by making use of her travel permit, because of which the Macau Public Security Police (PSP) have decided to bar the woman from entering Macau for one year.
According to previous announcements by Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, the Tanzhou woman travelled between Macau and Zhuhai via the Barrier Gate checkpoint many times from Tuesday last week to Sunday. During the time she was in Macau, the woman primarily visited a number of shops near the Barrier Gate Plaza.
In addition to its mandatory COVID-19 one-off testing programme for those living or working in the Barrier Gate Plaza neighbourhood, which ended on Tuesday, the Macau government has also required two other groups of people to undergo three nucleic acid tests (NATs) in three days, namely 1) those who crossed the Barrier Gate checkpoint more than four times on any one day in the period between Friday and Sunday; and 2) those who had visited the same places as the 45-year-old Tanzhou woman at around the same time.
The mandatory COVID-19 testing drive for the two groups will end at 6 p.m. tomorrow. According to the centre, as of 6 p.m. yesterday 12,657 had had their swab collected, and the results of 7,209 of them available, had all been negative.
A statement by the centre last night said that after an assessment, the Macau government has concluded that 10 travellers who had queued in front of the Tanzhou woman and 20 travellers who had queued behind the woman at the Barrier Gate checkpoint between Friday and Sunday might have been infected with the novel coronavirus, totalling around 780 people.
Precautionary measure
Consequently, the statement said, the Macau government has decided to roll out a COVID-19 “precautionary” measure for them, according to which they must undergo a total of five nucleic acid tests, yesterday, today and on Saturday, Tuesday next week and March 13. The statement said that the affected people have received an SMS telling them to undergo the required tests.
The statement said that those failing to undergo each of the five mandatory tests before the required schedule will have their Macau Health Code turn yellow. Those whose health code has become yellow due to this reason will only have it return to green after having the required test and it comes up with a negative result.
30 non-locals to be barred from entering Macau
Meanwhile, the Public Security Police (PSP) said in a statement yesterday that they have decided to bar around 30 non-local residents from entering Macau who had engaged in activities in Macau that “obviously” deviated from the permitted purposes of their travel permits to Macau.
The statement underlined that the police will continue to bar certain non-local residents from entering Macau after concluding that they have frequently entered Macau for engaging in activities that “obviously” deviate from the permitted purposes of their travel permits, such as cross-border parallel-trading activities.
According to the statement, the police will transfer cases of local residents’ parallel-trading activities to the Macau Customs Service for follow-up.
Parallel traders buy products in jurisdictions where they are sold at lower prices and sell them in jurisdiction where they can fetch higher prices. The flow of products thereby created is called parallel trade.
Parallel trade per se is not illegal as it does not involve contraband, i.e., goods that are illegally smuggled across borders in order to avoid customs duties or because their sale is banned such as weapons or drugs.
Stronger jab campaign for seniors
Meanwhile, the Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) said in a statement yesterday that it has asked over 200 private social service facilities in the city to make phone calls to unjabbed senior citizens to encourage them to get inoculated against COVID-19. Thousands of staff members and volunteers are now working for the campaign, the statement said.
This photo taken on Tuesday shows a man with a facemask running with his dog along the promenade near Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island. Photo: Xinhua
