The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) said yesterday that the results of its one-day nucleic acid testing (NAT) campaign for those who live or work near the Barrier Gate border checkpoint, which ended at 11:59 p.m. yesterday, will enable the government to “more fully” assess whether Macau is still carrying a COVID-19 risk resulting from Sunday’s case in which a male non-resident worker (NRW) employed in Macau tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Zhuhai.
All results of yesterday’s NAT drive for a specific area in the vicinity of the Barrier Gate checkpoint are expected to be available this morning.
Nevertheless, the bureau also said yesterday it had provisionally concluded that the level of a potential COVID-19 risk in Macau is now relatively low after no positive results were detected in Sunday’s NAT campaign for those who live or work in central Taipa, where the NRW’s workplace is located, and all his colleagues tested negative for COVID-19 in their first nucleic acid tests.
Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Health Bureau, made the remarks during yesterday evening’s press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.
Leong also said that more data is needed for the local and Zhuhai’s health authorities to identify the NRW’s source of infection.
Zhuhai’s health authorities informed their Macau counterpart about the case on Sunday morning. The NRW works in the bakery of the Grand Mart supermarket, which is located near the Macau Jockey Club in Taipa. The NRW, who is from the mainland, is a daily commuter between Macau and Zhuhai. Due to Zhuhai’s then quarantine requirements for arrivals from Macau, he had lived in Block 1 of the Polytec Garden residential estate in Areia Preta district through Wednesday last week. After Zhuhai lifted its then quarantine for arrivals from Macau, which took effect at 6 p.m. on Wednesday last week, he resumed his daily commute between the two cities on Thursday last week, and has been living in his home in Zhuhai since then.
The 26-year-old man, who works as a baker, tested positive for COVID-19 in Zhuhai on Sunday morning. His case has been classified as asymptomatic.
Consequently, Block 1 of Polytec Garden was sealed off at around midday on Sunday, i.e., after having been listed as a Red Code Zone. The building’s residents are prohibited from leaving their homes, and are required to undergo regular nucleic acid tests during the lockdown period, which is provisionally slated to end on Saturday. The Grand Mart supermarket was also sealed off at around midday on Sunday.
Tens of thousands of Macau’s non-resident workers live in the adjacent city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.
In the wake of the man’s case, all those who live or work in an area in the vicinity of the Grand Mart supermarket were required to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test between 3:30 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday morning that all results of Sunday’s testing campaign were negative.
One more test today for those in Barrier Gate neighbourhood
After work on Friday last week, the NRW bought cosmetics from a shop near the Barrier Gate checkpoint, and entered Zhuhai via the checkpoint. But soon afterwards he re-entered Macau via the nearby Qingmao checkpoint, and again went to the shop to buy cosmetics, before finally returning to his home in Zhuhai via the Qingmao checkpoint.
On Saturday last week, he entered Macau in the afternoon via the Barrier Gate checkpoint, again bought cosmetics from the shop, and left Macau via the Barrier Gate checkpoint. However, he re-entered Macau via the Qingmao checkpoint soon afterwards, and again went to the shop to buy cosmetics, before finally returning to his home in Zhuhai via the Qingmao checkpoint.
In the wake of his “frequent” visits to the Barrier Gate neighbourhood on Friday and Saturday, all those who live or work in the vicinity of the Barrier Gate checkpoint were required to undergo a COVID-19 nucleic acid test yesterday.
However, a Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre statement last night announced that the Health Bureau will continue its NAT campaign for the same area in the vicinity of the Barrier Gate checkpoint today, i.e., all those who live or work there are required to undergo another nucleic acid test today.
Those near Polytec Garden must also be tested
Initially, the Health Bureau said on Sunday that it had decided not to require those who live or work in the vicinity of Polytec Garden to undergo nucleic acid tests because the 26-year-old NRW had only lived there through Wednesday last week, and had been living in his home in Zhuhai since Thursday night last week. In addition, the man had constantly tested negative for COVID-19 in nucleic acid tests in Macau through Wednesday last week.
However, last night’s statement by the centre announced that the Health Bureau has decided to classify an area in the vicinity of Polytec Garden as a COVID-19-risk key area, requiring all those who live or work there to undergo a nucleic acid test today.
Last night’s statement said that today’s NAT campaigns for the area around the Barrier Gate checkpoint and the area around Polytec Garden aim to enable the government to “further assess” the risk of COVID-19 transmissions in the community.
During yesterday evening’s press conference, Leong said that all colleagues of the 26-year-old NRW had tested negative for COVID-19 in their first nucleic acid tests, and all his flatmates in Polytec Garden had also tested negative in their first tests. In addition, Leong said, Sunday’s NAT campaign for those who live or work in the vicinity of the Grand Mart supermarket in Taipa did not detect any positive results.
Consequently, Leong said, the Health Bureau has provisionally concluded that Macau is now facing a relatively low level of COVID-19 risk. But she was quick to add that only after all results of yesterday’s NAT drive for the area around the Barrier Gate checkpoint become available, could the government “fully assess” whether the COVID-19 risk in Macau resulting from the man’s case “has been basically cleared”.
In the wake of the NRW case, everyone in Macau was required to self-test for COVID-19 with a rapid antigen test (RAT) kit for two consecutive days, on Sunday and yesterday.
Leong said during yesterday evening’s press conference that if yesterday’s NAT campaign for the area around the Barrier Gate checkpoint comes up with “a good result”, the government’s mandatory self-testing campaign will no longer be implemented from today.
Meanwhile, Leong also revealed that all environmental samples taken from the NRW’s workplace, his flat in Macau, and the places that he had visited, have tested negative for COVID-19.
Leong also said that Zhuhai’s health authorities have provisionally classified the NRW’s case as imported from Macau because he had tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after entering Zhuhai from Macau.
Leong said that no cases related to the NRW’s case had been detected in either Zhuhai or Macau as of yesterday afternoon, adding that more data was needed for the adjacent cities to try to identify his case’s source of infection.
Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division, addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s COVID-19 situation. Photo: GCS
