Members of the public told The Macau Post Daily yesterday about how the current COVID-19 outbreak has affected them, with some praising the government’s efforts and improvements in tackling the situation.
All interviews were conducted outside the testing station in Colégio Mateus Ricci Secondary School near the Ruins of Saint Paul’s.
A female local school teacher surnamed Choi said she was not worried about her job being affected by the outbreak, but was worried about her students who should be taking school examinations next week. She said students were impacted a lot by the situation, adding that she was waiting for the school’s instructions. Choi said that according to the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), students may not be able to take the final examination this year, which means schools may use class performance and test results for end-of-year reports if classes are suspended until next month.
When asked how she felt about the COVID-19 outbreak and the third round of citywide mandatory mass nucleic acid tests (NATs), Choi said that at the beginning of the latest outbreak, she was not too worried about it compared to the previous two outbreaks as she had already had three COVID-19 jabs. However, she said, she started to feel panic today (yesterday) when over 10 cases were announced within one day. Choi said that the outbreak this time was obviously more serious than the previous two, which hit Macau last September and October. Choi also said that Macau’s economy, such as the retail sector, and also casinos have been affected a lot by the current outbreak.
A 35-year-old local resident, Tong, also a teacher, said that she had queued for around 30 minutes for her nucleic acid test (NAT). The test was “fast”, she added. Tong told The Macau Post Daily that although she was a little bit worried about the outbreak, she has confidence in the local government as it had improved a lot since the first two rounds of testing.
However, she said that her job has been affected by Sunday’s announcement of the schools’ suspension, adding that the school examination period is approaching, which requires a lot of preparation. She noted that she can only wait for the Education and Youth Development Bureau’s (DSEDJ) arrangements to plan further work. Being a class advisor at the same time, she said that she needed to send various COVID-19 prevention items to her students while worrying about where her students are staying.
When asked about her prevention measures against the novel coronavirus, Tong said that she would do better in protecting herself against COVID-19 when going out and returning home, adding that she has seldom gone out since 2020 when the pandemic started to spread. She said the reason she was out yesterday was for her nucleic acid test, otherwise, she would stay at home.
Tong also said that she had a habit of saving enough “food and materials” at home, so she did not need to “fight” for food in the supermarket. In addition, Tong urged the government to enhance the promotion of better personal prevention measures. She also said that the current outbreak may be related to the behaviour of people taking off their facemasks when out and about, based on her observation.
A 70-year-old local resident surnamed Ho told The Macau Post Daily that she took around five minutes to have the NAT through the special care channel. She said her family members, such as her granddaughter and daughter-in-law have not been impacted by the outbreak, as the former had already finished the school examinations while the latter had taken a long temporary leave from the casino where she was working. Ho also said that she was not really worried about the outbreak, adding that she would stay at home in order to minimise the chances of getting infected.
Views from non-resident workers
“I am scared again. Things were already alright, but now [with the new cases], I am scared again”, a female non-resident worker surnamed Kapras told The Macau Post Daily. She added that her fears are also due to the increasing number of cases and their sources still being untraced.
The 49-year-old also said she thought that jobs may be affected by the outbreak. As an example, she mentioned that she was told not to go to work today (yesterday) due to her boss’s concerns especially since she is a “stay-out” worker. However, she was quick to add that her employers “give me everything I need. They actually told me that if I ever needed anything, just tell them.” Moreover, she urged members of the public to stay home, keep praying and to follow the city’s rules.
Banez, a non-resident worker aged 47, said that he was not afraid of the situation as “Macau is very protective”, adding that the local government immediately monitors what is going on and takes action right away. He also noted that he has confidence in the local government’s health protocols, especially since the public really follows them, while also asking everyone to undergo a nucleic acid test (NAT) with no exceptions.
However, similar to Kapras, Banez pointed out that he was worried about the pandemic’s effects on jobs, noting that many of his colleagues have already been terminated and sent home. With a pending contract renewal next month, he underlined that “we [he and his colleagues] don’t know what will happen. We might go home. It depends on what happens, we are just waiting”.
Meanwhile, Robin Michael, a non-resident expat aged 49 who works as a chef, said that he did not have a problem with the situation considering that the government had already done a “great job” during the first two outbreaks. “I am very confident that they will take very good care of all of us”, adding that the city is still “a good place”. Moreover, the 49-year-old added: “Problems can happen, but here in Macau, we are very much well taken care of in terms of organisation and trying to manage the problem”.
Michael also said he hopes that the pandemic will not severely affect anybody while the number of new cases is kept at a minimum. Concerning the possible impact, he said that he believes that there will be repercussions for both big and small local businesses, as well as blue-card holders. He noted that he hopes the breakout can be quickly resolved, pointing out that he has “full trust in the government”.
Residents queue yesterday afternoon outside Colégio Mateus Ricci Secondary School near the Ruins of St. Paul’s for the third round of the citywide mandatory mass nucleic acid tests (NATs). Photo: Rui Pastorin
