The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) announced today that the number of confirmed Wuhan virus cases here rose this morning from two to five, including four females.
According to an SSM statement, the three new patients are Wuhan residents, all of them females. The previous two patients are also Wuhan residents. All of them are visitors.
The statement pointed out that the three new patients all separately left Wuhan before the authorities there had imposed a lockdown on the city some 900 km north of Macau.
The three new patients include a 58-year-old retiree who arrived in Macau on Thursday by ferry from Hong Kong. She went directly from the ferry pier to the private Kiang Wu Hospital because she felt dizzy. The Health Bureau said this afternoon it was still checking by which means of transport the woman arrived at the hospital. She was later transferred to the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre where her infection with the Wuhan virus was confirmed this morning, according to the statement.The second patient was identified by the statement as a 39-year-old housewife who arrived in Macau via the Cotai-Hengqin Lotus Flower checkpoint from Zhuhai on Wednesday. She came down with a fever yesterday and was taken by ambulance to the public holiday where her condition was confirmed this morning. The third patients is a 21-year-old teacher who arrived in Macau via the Lotus Flower checkpoint from Zhuhai on Thursday. She felt dizzy yesterday and was taken by ambulance to the public holiday where here condition was confirmed this morning.
The previous two patients are a 52-year-old woman and a 66-year-old man from Wuhan. Their condition has been described by the Health Bureau as stable.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced earlier this week that all its venues will remain closed for the time being. The government announced yesterday that the operating hours of Macau's main border checkpoint, the Barrier Gate, will be shorted to from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. from tomorrow due to the Wuhan virus threat. The other checkpoints' operating hours were not changed. Some of them are open 24/7.
The Health Bureau announced yesterday that some 13 million facemasks have meanwhile been delivered to Macau. The bureau said earlier that it had ordered 20 million facemasks. Residents and non-residents can buy up to 10 facemasks every 10 days at fixed prices from designated pharmacies. They also can buy them from other pharmacies or shops, such as supermarkets, at market prices.
Health Bureau Director Lei Chin Ion told reporters yesterday there was a higher risk of infection with the Wuhan virus in cinemas or concert halls than in casinos as the premises of the latter are more spacious.. Macau has five cinemas with a total of 15 screens.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said at a press conference on Thursday that he would not exclude the possibility of closing Macau's 41 casinos if the Wuhan virus situation deteriorates. The government has urged all casino workers to wear facemasks.
