Two local residents who recovered from the novel coronavirus disease in Hong Kong have tested positive for COVID-19 again after returning to Macau, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday.
None of them have come down with COVID-19 symptoms.
The centre has classified the two 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.
Consequently, Macau’s total numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases remain at 82 and 64 respectively.
Since December last year, the Macau government has separately classified and announced asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
According to yesterday’s statement, the two returnees are a 50-year-old woman and a 66-year-old woman. The first woman has received two Sinopharm inactivated jabs while the second woman has received two mRNA jabs.
Upon arrival in Macau on Sunday, both “weakly” tested positive for the novel coronavirus, 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 two women were diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease in Hong Kong on February 4 and March 6 respectively. Both had recovered from the disease before they returned to Macau on Sunday, the statement said.
Consequently, the two cases have been classified as “re-positive” cases.
The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) 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.
