Macau will launch the current COVID-19 outbreak's third mandatory mass testing drive tomorrow morning, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U announced this afternoon.
Ao Ieong made the announcement during the daily press conference of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre. The policy secretary said that the two-day citywide tests will begin at 9 a.m. tomorrow and end as 6 p.m. on Tuesday. She stressed that the novel coronavirus "is spreading quickly in the community". She urged residents to stay, if possible, at home.
Ao Ieong also announced that during the mass testing drive people will be handed five rapid antigen test kits for self-testing and KN95 facemasks.
Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said that the number of the current breakout's cases has risen to 299, up by 109 cases from the figure announced during yesterday afternoon's press conference.
The first case of the current outbreak was detected last Saturday, June 18. It is the biggest outbreak since Macau confirmed its first COVID-19 case on January 22, 2020.
Macau's COVID-19 tally of confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic has reached 150, while the number of asymptomatic cases amounts to 401, according to the Health Bureau's special website on the epidemic.
No COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Macau.
