The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that it has recently launched an anti-COVID-19 prevention plan for the city’s slaughterhouse, adding that due to limited human resources, the supply of fresh beef will be suspended for the time being in the local food market starting today, while the supply of fresh pork will not be affected.
The statement stressed that over 300 pigs for slaughter will be supplied today.
According to the statement, in order to stabilise the supply and price of fresh meat, the bureau and Macau Slaughter House Company Limited launched the novel coronavirus prevention plan on Monday in which the slaughterhouse staff have to work in two shifts, so as to avoid all staff being quarantined if one of them is confirmed as a COVID-19 case, which could cause the slaughterhouse’s operation to stop.
The statement noted that since Monday, 1,198 pigs and 14 cows were slaughtered in three days, which means about 399 pigs and four to five cows were butchered on average each day. The statement underlined that the numbers have increased by 50 percent compared to the days before the current COVID-19 outbreak.
The statement highlighted that most of the meat sold in the local market is frozen. There is sufficient supply of chilled and frozen pork in the Macau market, the statement added.
The bureau will keep in touch with related government entities in the mainland, Nam Yue and Nam Kwong Groups, as well as the local abattoir, in order to ensure the supply of fresh pork in the local market by adjusting the respective measures based on possible changes in the novel coronavirus outbreak.
This undated handout photo provided by the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) on Monday shows a lorry leaving the abattoir at night to deliver meat to retailers.
