The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a statement yesterday all community clinics for COVID-19 carriers closed last night as the city’s COVID-19 transmissions have been easing.
Three community clinics first commenced operation on December 12 with the aim of tackling the then rising number of COVID-19 infectees in the community who did not require hospital treatment, a few days after the Macau government abandoned its long-running dynamic zero-COVID approach. Since then, more and more community clinics came into operation when the city was being hard hit by widespread COVID-19 infections.
When Macau suffered its first peak of widespread COVID-19 infections around the Christmas holiday period, there were a total of 17 community clinics operating across the city.
As the infection peak began to subside, the local government began closing more and more community clinics from early this month. More specifically, three COVID-19 community clinics were closed on January 6, before five more clinics were closed on Friday last week. The government closed five more community clinics on Wednesday, leaving only four clinics still in operation at that time.
Yesterday’s statement said that since the first COVID-19 community clinics started operating on December 12, over 46,000 people had sought assessments and treatments in the city’s community clinics. After assessing the current situation of COVID-19 infectees’ need for treatment, the government decided to close all COVID-19 community clinics yesterday as the city’s COVID-19 transmissions have now been easing.
The statement said that those who have been infected with COVID-19 can choose to visit Health Bureau (SSM) facilities or other private medical institutions for treatment after considering their symptoms and health conditions.
The statement also said that the city’s public health centres will provide walk-in outpatient treatment (i.e., without the need to make an appointment) from Sunday through Wednesday next week, i.e., from the first to the fourth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, with the aim of “making it more convenient for residents to seek treatment during the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday period”.
The Chinese New Year of the Rabbit falls on January 22, Sunday.
2 more COVID-19 fatalities, raising official death toll to 116
Meanwhile, another Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre statement yesterday announced that two more people died of the novel coronavirus disease on Wednesday, raising Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll to 116. According to the statement, both of the victims, one male and one female, aged 76 and 82, had suffered from underlying diseases.
One of them had not been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, the statement said.
Yesterday’s statement also announced that four new patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease were admitted to the Health Bureau’s isolation and treatment facilities on Wednesday.
According to the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 website, which was updated yesterday, Macau’s official cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 3,449, of which 3,269 had meanwhile been cured.
Govt to cease class suspension criteria after CNY school break
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) announced in a statement last night that the government will cease its current special COVID-19 measure that requires a school class with at least four COVID-19 positive cases detected on the same day to be suspended, when schoolchildren return to their classrooms after the upcoming Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday period.
The statement also announced that before returning to their classrooms after the CNY school break, all school teachers and students will be required to undergo a one-off rapid antigen test (RAT, aka self-test) and upload their RAT result onto the Health Bureau’s RAT reporting system on January 28 or 29.
The statement also said that after the CNY school break, the government will continue with its measure that requires school teachers and students who have not been infected with COVID-19 to self-test and upload their negative RAT result onto the Health Bureau’s RAT reporting system every day before going to school. After the CNY holiday period, the measure will be provisionally slated to be implemented for one to two weeks, the statement said, adding that the government may “adjust” the measure afterwards depending on the number of COVID-19 infections of teachers and students after the CNY school break.
This file photo released last month shows a COVID-19 community clinic in Ilha Verde district operating at that time. – Photo: GCS
