Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U said last week that the findings of a preliminary investigation indicate that Wednesday’s technical glitch of the Macau Health Code system was due to flaws in the system’s design.
Ao Ieong made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Macau Grand Prix Building near the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal on Thursday on the sidelines of a traditional blessing ceremony for this week’s 69th Macau Grand Prix (MGP).
The malfunction, which hit the Macau Health Code system on Wednesday morning and afternoon, resulted in long queues outside and near the Barrier Gate border checkpoint.
Due to the system failure at that time, smartphone users could not generate their health code.
Ao Ieong said on Thursday that the government had ordered the IT company that has been hired by the Health Bureau (SSM) to design and operate the Macau Health Code system to submit a report about Wednesday’s technical glitch.
In addition to design flaws, Ao Ieong said that the malfunction was also due to problems with the company’s management in the Macau Health Code system’s operation.
The policy secretary said that the IT company had failed to carry out a good job in the Macau Health Code system’s pressure tests as well as in crisis management in case of a technical failure.
Ao Ieong underlined that the government had learnt from the experience of Wednesday’s incident, pledging that in the future the government, in collaboration with the IT company, will always ensure that tests and other preparatory tasks have been properly carried out before rolling out major changes to the Macau Health Code system.
She also said that a good management plan in system engineering was needed for preventing similar incidents from occurring again.
IT company apologises
Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday the IT company that designs and operates the Macau Health Code system, InfoMacro Information Technology Limited, apologised for Wednesday’s technical glitch.
The company’s statement admitted that Wednesday’s malfunction of the health code system was due to insufficient tests and preparatory work.
The statement pledged that the company will constantly improve the design, management and operation of the Macau Health Code system.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U talks to reporters at the Macau Grand Prix Building in Zape on Thursday. – Photo: GCS
