Concerning the feasibility of a possible lockdown in Macau, a COVID-19 research team of the University of Macau (UM) has provided a number of suggestions, aiming to help cope with the pandemic and combat the virus, according to a statement from the public university on Friday.
The statement underlined that the new variant of the virus – Omicron BA.5 – is spreading significantly faster than previous variants, and the team stresses that lockdowns should be carefully assessed with cost and benefit analysis because they will have negative effects on social cohesion and accessibility of necessary services.
According to the statement, based on experiences around the world, an absolute lockdown is more effective when the infection rate is high, while such lockdowns do not always prevent new outbreaks. In addition, if lockdown measures were to be implemented in Macau, the statement said, the team anticipated significant challenges and new difficulties, including a lack of a comprehensive supply system of household goods and struggles in organising civil society to operate during a lockdown.
Moreover, the team said that in Macau geographical zoning would be challenging in ensuring stable accessibility to basic medical treatment. The execution of lockdown measures would also require an effective administrative body to oversee and support the day-to-day operation, which is also lacking, according to the team.
Thus, the team has made the following recommendations: continuous mass COVID-19 testing would be necessary to screen for unknown cases of infection hidden within the community; residents should always be aware of personal protection, wear facemasks, wash hands regularly, and keep a safe social distance; and residents should avoid going out as much as possible.
The team said that it was important to prepare for a possible surge of symptomatic patients by creating plans for emergency supplies, staff, and facilities; while asymptomatic patients should be isolated and treated in a mobile cabin hospital*. If the number of patients exceeds the capacity of the mobile hospital, the team said that home isolation should then be considered for at least seven days, with supervision measures being carried out by residential buildings’ security guards.
The research team said that reaching out to mainland China for further support was feasible, but the local authorities should closely monitor the impact of current breakout on the mental health of local people, which was often overlooked, compared to disease control measures and the economic situation.
* Mobile cabin hospitals, also called fangcang** shelter hospitals in the mainland, refer to large-scale public venues such as indoor stadiums and exhibition centres converted to temporary hospitals.
** The term “fangcang hospital”refers to a kind of makeshift and/or mobile field hospitals notably used during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan.
