Four local residents enrolled in universities in Hong Kong who recovered from the novel coronavirus disease there last month tested positive for COVID-19 again yesterday after returning to Macau, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement last night.
None of them have come down with COVID-19 symptoms.
The centre has classified the four cases as “re-positive” cases – a person who has tested positive for the novel coronavirus again in a nucleic acid test (NAT) after having previously been infected with COVID-19 and recovered, because of which, the statement pointed out, they have not been classified as confirmed COVID-19 cases for Macau, neither have they been classified as asymptomatic COVID-19 cases for Macau.
Consequently, Macau’s total numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases remain at 82 and 43 respectively.
Since December last year, the Macau government has separately classified and announced asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
According to last night’s statement, the four students aged between 19 and 20 comprise a male and three females. Two of them received two shots of COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, in July and August respectively, while the other two received three mRNA jabs, in June, July and last month respectively, the statement said.
The four students travelled from Hong Kong to Macau on a shuttle bus (aka Golden Bus) via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) yesterday afternoon, and “weakly” tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival here, because of which they have been transferred to the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for isolation.
According to the statement, the foursome were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease in Hong Kong between February 16 and 17. All of them had recovered from the disease before they returned to Macau yesterday, the statement said. None of them have come down with novel coronavirus symptoms upon arrival here.
Consequently, the four cases have been classified as “re-positive” cases.
The Macau Health Bureau has previously pointed out that the fact that some confirmed or asymptomatic COVID-19 patients discharged from hospital have later tested positive for the virus again in a nucleic acid test is “merely a phenomenon”, which means that they have not had a relapse, i.e., suffering from COVID-19 symptoms again.
Jab rate of 28 pct amongst kids
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) said in a statement last night that Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rate amongst schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11 has now increased to around 28 percent from the mere six percent a few weeks ago.
The statement said that the government has been intensifying its collective COVID-19 vaccination programme for schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11, which is carried out in two ways, namely on-site inoculations on campuses or organising students to receive their jabs collectively at certain vaccination facilities in the city.
Out of Macau’s around 15,000 schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11 who have already been inoculated against COVID-19 in Macau, around 5,000 got vaccinated over a three-day period from Friday last week to Sunday, according to the statement, which also said that around 1,500 of them got inoculated during the two-day “Schoolchildren Vaccination Day” campaign at the Macau Forum vaccination facility in Zape on Saturday and Sunday.
The statement said that the government will organise another “Schoolchildren Vaccination Day” at the Macau Forum this Saturday and Sunday.
While Macau’s COVID-19 vaccination rates amongst young and middle-aged people are high, exceeding 90 percent, the jab rates amongst children and senior citizens are still low.
Meanwhile, the Health Bureau announced yesterday that it will host a presentation session about COVID-19 vaccinations on the third floor of the Areia Preta Health Centre from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, with the aim of boosting the city’s inoculation rates amongst senior citizens and children. No prior registration is needed for the briefing session which will be conducted in Cantonese, where participants can also be assessed by health workers as to whether they are physically suitable to be inoculated against the novel coronavirus.
According to the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 website, as of yesterday 543,710 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19, while over 1.1 million doses had been administered. A total of 495,159 people had completed two or more doses.
Residents wait for receiving a Sinovac inactivated jab outside a mobile COVID-19 vaccination facility at Tai Hing Estate in Tuen Mun in Hong Kong on Friday. Photo: Xinhua
