Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long said yesterday that official data has indicated that 34 percent of those seeking treatment for respiratory symptoms at hospitals in recent days have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Dr Lo made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the Studio City casino-hotel resort in Cotai after attending the opening ceremony of a healthcare academic conference.
The health chief said that 21 percent of respiratory-tract samples taken from patients seeking treatment for respiratory symptoms at hospitals over recent days have tested positive for the influenza A virus, 34 percent have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while the remaining patients have been infected with various other viruses.
Moreover, Dr Lo also reaffirmed that all of the COVID-19 infections detected in Macau over recent days have been confirmed as various Omicron XBB subvariants.
Dr Lo revealed that two-thirds of the recent infections have been confirmed as EG.5, a descendent lineage of one of the Omicron XBB subvariants.
Like various other Omicron subvariants, EG.5 is also very contagious, according to Dr Lo, who reassured the public that its pathogenicity is also relatively weak.
However, Lo urged senior citizens or those with chronic diseases to always stay vigilant against possible COVID-19 infections, adding that those in the two groups who have come down with respiratory symptoms should undergo COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) so that those who have been infected can seek treatment in time.
According to Dr Lo, early detection and treatment for COVID-19 are particularly important for those in the two groups with the aim of lowering the risk of suffering from a serious condition or even dying from the novel coronavirus disease.
703 COVID-19 infections in 7 days
Meanwhile, Macau recorded a total of 703 COVID-19 infections from September 1 to 7, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced on its COVID-19 website on Friday.
A total of eight new COVID-19 patients were admitted to treatment facilities in the seven days.
No COVID-19 fatalities were recorded in the seven days.
This came after the city recorded a total of 685 COVID-19 infections in the previous seven days between August 25 and 31.
Macau recorded a total of 615 COVID-19 infections from August 18 to 24.
Macau had not recorded any COVID-19 fatalities for 81 consecutive days, from June 19 to September 7, after the latest COVID-19 fatality was recorded on June 18.
Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll currently stands at 124.
Meanwhile, chairing a meeting with representatives from the city’s healthcare sector last week, Dr Lo underlined that similar to influenza, Macau can be expected to continue to be affected by COVID-19 community transmissions in the long term, according to an SSM statement at that time.
Health Bureau (SSM) Director Alvis Lo Iek Long talks to reporters at Studio City in Cotai yesterday.
– Photo courtesy of TDM
