The Macau government yesterday wound up its Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, which was set up in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the city, in view of the now “reduced” impact of the disease on human beings globally.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced the centre’s abolition in an executive order published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday, when the Health Bureau (SSM) issued a statement on the matter.
The executive order took effect yesterday.
The statement pointed out that the centre was established on January 21, 2020 in response to the then COVID-19 threat to the city, which recorded its first novel coronavirus case the next day.
The centre had been operating directly under Ho tasked with the planning, guidance and coordination of measures by various public and private entities in COVID-19 prevention, control and treatment, the statement noted.
The statement said that although COVID-19 is now no longer classified as a public health emergency of international concern, the disease is still posing a certain threat to human health.
Consequently, the statement said, the Macau Health Bureau and other relevant public entities will continue to implement proper COVID-19 prevention and control measures in line with the latest global COVID-19 developments.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared an end the COVID-19 public health emergency of international concern in early May this year.
With the termination of the centre’s operation, the statement said, the government has now made adjustments to its COVID-19 prevention and control work accordingly.
Changes
According to the statement, the government’s COVID-19 special website has now become one of the Health Bureau’s regular themed websites. Previously known as Special Webpage Against Epidemics, the website has now been renamed COVID-19 Webpage.
According to the statement, the Health Bureau will continue to announce the city’s weekly total number of new COVID-19 infections and update COVID-19 vaccination data monthly on the website. However, the website will now no longer announce the weekly number of COVID-19 telephone enquiries, the statement said.
According to the statement, the government’s COVID-19 vaccination website has now also become one of the Health Bureau’s regular themed websites.
In addition, the statement said, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre’s enquiry hotline, 2870 0800, has now returned to the Health Bureau’s general enquiry hotline on infectious diseases, which now operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., Mondays to Thursdays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Fridays.
The enquiry email, info.cdc@ssm.gov.mo, which had hitherto been designated for COVID-19 enquiries, has now returned to a general enquiry email on infectious diseases operated by the Health Bureau’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to the statement, the COVID-19 SMS enquiry service on 6333 7492, and the COVID-19 online enquiries and assistance platform, https://www.ssm.gov.mo/covidq, has now stoped operating.
However, the statement said, the government will continue with its facemask purchase scheme, which was rolled out in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect Macau.
Each round of the facemask purchase scheme runs for 30 days, during which each local resident, non-resident worker and non-local student enrolled in local higher education institutions is entitled to buy a total of 30 facemasks at the fixed price of 24 patacas at designated outlets.
The current 58th round of the facemask purchase scheme, which started on Thursday last week, is running until October 13.
593 COVID-19 infections in 7 days
Meanwhile, Macau recorded a total of 593 COVID-19 infections from September 8 to 14, the Health Bureau (SSM) announced on its COVID-19 website on Friday.
A total of three 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 703 COVID-19 infections in the previous seven days between September 1 and 7.
As of September 14, no COVID-19 fatalities had been recorded for 88 consecutive days since June 19, after the latest COVID-19 fatality was recorded on June 18.
Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll stands at 124.
This file photo taken in June shows a part of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre. – Photo: Tony Wong
