The Health Bureau (SSM) is urging residents to step up precautions as the bureau anticipates an increase in flu and COVID-19 infections, according to a statement on Friday.
Data from the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre and private Kiang Wu Hospital show that the number of patients with influenza-like illnesses continues to rise, with the positive rate of the influenza virus rising to 33 percent last week, having exceeded the baseline level for nearly two weeks, indicating that Macau has entered the peak season of influenza.
Among the cases, influenza A and H3 viruses accounted for about 73 percent, while the rest were influenza Type B viruses and H1 viruses, the statement said.
The bureau has recorded 43 cluster influenza cases involving 360 people so far this year, according to the statement, mainly in kindergartens and primary and middle schools, and eight cases of severe influenza complicated with pneumonia have been recorded in people aged between 5 and 81, the statement said.
The statement also called for high-risk groups to get vaccinated as early as possible, adding that 161,000 people have so far received this season’s flu vaccine, and the vaccination rate of all high-risk groups has increased compared with the same period last year.
In order to prevent influenza or other viral respiratory diseases, the bureau urged residents to get vaccinated against seasonal influenza every year, as well as to follow a balanced diet and get enough sleep and exercise, the statement said.
Residents should maintain good personal and environmental hygiene, such as washing hands frequently, covering their mouths and noses properly while sneezing or coughing, coughing into a tissue and putting the sputum into covered dustbins, and washing hands immediately, the statement said.
The bureau also urged residents to avoid going to crowded places, and people who get flu-like symptoms or need to take care of an ill person and need to go to hospitals or medical centres should wear a facemask.
Image courtesy of Dr Mikael Häggström/Wikimedia Commons
