Macau's Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre reported today zero new COVID-19 cases for the second time this week.
According to a statement by the centre, no new cases were recorded between 00.00 and 11:59 p.m. yesterday.
The number of cases found since the first case of the current outbreak was confirmed on June 18 remained at 1,821.
Macau's tally of COVID-19 cases accumulated since January 22, 2020 stands at 791 confirmed and 1,374 asymptomatic cases, according to the website of the Health Bureau (SSM) as of 3:00 p.m. today. A total of 626 of the confirmed cases and 970 of the asymptomatic cases have been cured, the bureau said.
Six COVID-19 deaths have been reported in Macau since the start of the pandemic in January 2020. The six victims - five females and a male - were senior citizens suffering from a range of chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, Macau started its 14th round of mandatory nucleic acid tests (NATs) for all today. The testing drive is free of charge. It comprises residents, non-resident workers and anyone else in Macau. Each person must be tested at least once during the two-day campaign.
Anyone in Macau – not just residents but also non-resident workers and visitors – must also self-test once a day.
The government has said that if no positive cases are found today and tomorrow its 10-day "consolidation period", which is slated to end on Monday night, will be followed by a weeklong "stabilisation period" in the run-up to the normalisation of its fight against COVID-19 situation, i.e., a return to the situation prior to the June 18 outbreak.
Shopping centres, public parks, hiking trails and leisure areas reopened today. However, entertainment venues other than casinos remain closed at least through Monday.
Restaurants are still only allowed to sell takeaways.
The government has been distributing free rapid antigen test (RAT) kits (self-tests) among the population, the results of which are to be uploaded to an app of the Health Bureau (SSM) for verification. It has also been handing out free KN95 masks at testing stations. Before going to a NAT station, everyone must first self-test at home to prevent the virus from spreading at testing stations.
Macau reported its first novel coronavirus case on January 22, 2020.
The Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) has been closely coordinating its anti-COVID-19 measures with the National Health Commission (NHC) in Beijing. In general, Macau follows the mainland's dynamic zero-COVID policy that is focused on preventing fatalities and serious cases.
Hundreds of health workers from the mainland have assisted the local authorities in battling the current outbreak driven by the highly infectious OMICRON BA.5.1 subvariant.
From today, people are no longer required to wear KN95 facemasks but can opt for surgical masks again that many have said are more comfortable to wear.
As of yesterday Hong Kong's COVID-19 tally stood at 1.3 million, or 17.6 percent of the population, including 9,498 deaths, according to worldometers.info.
Meanwhile, the world's COVID-19 tally stands at 581 million, including 6.4 million fatalities, according to worldometers.info. The United States' number of COVID-19 deaths amounts to 1.05 million, more than in any other country. The US also has the world's highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, at about 93 million.
