Seven local residents who returned to Macau from Hong Kong and three foreign countries, and a two-year-old Hong Kong boy who entered the city from Hong Kong, have tested positive for COVID-19, Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre has announced.
The centre has classified the eight cases as imported and asymptomatic, because of which they have not been added to Macau’s novel coronavirus tally, which therefore remains at 82.
However, the eight cases have raised Macau’s asymptomatic COVID-19 tally to 86.
The first patient is a 53-year-old man who returned to Macau from London via Singapore on Wednesday last week. He has received two mRNA jabs, according to a statement on Thursday last week.
The second patient is a 67-year-old man who returned to Macau from Hong Kong also on Thursday last week. He has received two Sinovac inactivated jabs, according to a statement on Friday last week.
The third and fourth patients are a 31-year-old local woman and a two-year-old Hong Kong boy who travelled to Macau from Hong Kong on Friday last week, according to a statement on Saturday. The woman has received three Sinovac inactivated jabs, while the boy has not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The statement did not mention the two patients’ relationship.
The other four patients, whose cases were announced in a statement on Sunday, returned to Macau on Saturday. They comprise an 80-year-old man arriving from Hong Kong, a 22-year-old woman arriving from the Philippines via Singapore, a 22-year-old woman arriving from the United Kingdom via Singapore, and a 34-year-old man arriving from Vietnam via Singapore. All four patients have received two or three mRNA jabs.
All eight patients tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon their respective arrivals in Macau. They are undergoing isolation treatment at the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane.
Since December last year, the Macau government has separately classified and announced asymptomatic COVID-19 cases and confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Schoolchildren’s jab rate
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) said in a statement last night that over 39,000 schoolchildren aged between 3 and 11 have been inoculated against COVID-19 (having received at least one jab), representing a vaccination rate of 60 percent, over 19,000 of whom have received two jabs.
According to the statement, over 25,000 schoolchildren aged 12 or over have received at least one COVID-19 jab, accounting for 78 percent of the population aged between 12 and 19. Among the around 25,000 schoolchildren, the statement said, over 20,000 have received two jabs.
The statement said that over 4,700 schoolchildren aged three or over were vaccinated against COVID-19 during a four-day “Schoolchildren Vaccination Day” campaign at the Macau Forum inoculation facility in Zape from Friday to yesterday.
A girl and a boy pose after getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at the Macau Forum inoculation facility yesterday. The sign held by the girl reads “we are all defenders”.
Photo: DSEDJ
