A non-resident worker (NRW) shared his experience of working as a security guard at a nucleic acid test (NAT) station with The Macau Post Daily about the hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The interview was conducted online last night.
The interviewee surnamed Lei graduated from a mainland university recently as a computer scientist. He came to Macau for the higher salary and works night shifts from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day, with five days off each month.
COVID-19 outbreak in Macau
“The first thing I did when I heard about the positive [COVID-19] case on June 19 was to check the news,” Lei said, adding: “When I saw that the government required proof of a negative nucleic acid test (NAT) result obtained within 24 hours, my heart sank because I knew a quarantine measure would follow soon, so I am not going back to my flat in Zhuhai anytime soon.”
Lei underlined that he was really stressed that night because he had to find a place to stay immediately. “Fortunately, I found a hotel where I stayed for five days. Then my company told me that I could stay in staff quarters to which I immediately moved,” said Lei.
“Those five days nearly cost all my savings. I couldn’t afford to pay 300 patacas a day anymore. I have to say that I wasn’t worried about my health that much compared to my money issue after the start of the outbreak,” said Lei, adding: “We mainlanders are so used to the pandemic already and we think the Macau government has the resources to handle the pandemic much better than other places in the world.”
Tough life in a tough environment
Lei is currently living with 10 people working for the same company in a two-bedroom company flat. He joked that the flat never gets too “crowded” because half of them work day shifts and others work night shifts. “I take over the bed after my day shift colleague wakes up and goes to work in the morning,” Lei said. He was quick to add that the irony is that since he is using the bed for free under an adverse situation, when his colleague has a day off, he would have to stay somewhere else for the day to make room for his colleague to use his bed.
Still, Lei found it hard to sleep because the flat is very noisy and he cannot get enough sleep to recover from the tiring night’s work. “Normally, the job is very easy as no one visits my location at night, but since the outbreak I have to stand without breaks for hours to check people’s health codes continuously,” said Lei.
He also complained about the high cost of food in Macau. “Many of us go to near the Barrier Gate checkpoint to buy cheaper meals which still cost over 30 patacas, almost double the price charged in the mainland. I still have to pay for the unused room in Zhuhai due to the contract,” said Lei.
However, the biggest worry Lei has is that the current COVID-19 predicament could last for six months so that he could not travel to the mainland should anything serious happen in his family home. “Money is one thing, but the situation is very fluid and I am overwhelmed by my anxiety.”
This photo taken recently shows staff checking residents’ Macau Health Code during mass nucleic acid tests (NATS) outside Mateus Ricci College, the same task Lei performs during his night shift. Photo: Rui Pastorin
