Macau has not recorded any COVID-19 fatalities for 12 days in a row, from February 3 to 14, according to a statement by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre yesterday, which announced that no fatalities were recorded on Tuesday.
Consequently, Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll has remained unchanged at 121.
Yesterday’s statement also announced that three new patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease were admitted to the Health Bureau’s (SSM) isolation and treatment facilities on Tuesday.
No new COVID-19 patients had been recorded for three consecutive days, from Saturday to Monday, after one patient was admitted on Friday.
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 3,510, of which 3,375 had meanwhile been cured.
Macau’s first six COVID-19 fatalities were reported during Macau’s previous COVID-19 outbreak that began on June 18 last year and started to subside in late July, colloquially known as 618 outbreak in Cantonese. The Macau government was pursuing a dynamic zero-COVID approach when the city was hit by the 618 outbreak.
Macau’s seventh COVID-19 fatality was reported on December 13, a few days after the Macau government abandoned its long-running dynamic zero-COVID approach.
The 12 consecutive days without any COVID-19 fatalities is the longest period in a row without any deaths caused by the novel coronavirus disease, since Macau’s seventh COVID-19 fatality was reported on December 13.
Before one fatality was reported on February 2, Macau had not recorded any COVID-19 fatalities for seven consecutive days, from January 26 to February 1.
7th round of RAT kit purchase scheme to start tomorrow
Meanwhile, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced in a separate statement yesterday that the government’s seventh round of its rapid antigen test (RAT) kit purchase scheme will start tomorrow.
The same as in previous rounds, the seventh round of the programme will run for 14 days, between tomorrow and March 2, during which each local resident, non-resident worker and non-local student enrolled in Macau’s higher education institutions will be entitled to buy a total of 10 RAT kits at the fixed price of 40 patacas at designated outlets, i.e., four patacas per kit.
According to the statement, COVID-19 RAT kits provided by the programme’s seventh round will be sold at 55 designated pharmacies, five venues run by the Macau Women’s General Association (known as Fu Luen in Cantonese), and five venues run by the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (Gung Luen).
From tomorrow, COVID-19 RAT kits will no longer be sold at the five venues run by the Macau General Union of Neighbourhood Associations (Kai Fong) that have been selling self-test kits since the programme’s launch in early December.
The statement also reminded that people can return defective RAT kits that have been purchased through the programme to public health centres, and change them for new ones.
