The Macau government yesterday announced that it has decided to extend public servants' Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday by two days in the wake of the Wuhan novel coronavirus threat.
The government announced the measure during an hour-long daily press conference about the virus threat. The press conference was attended by two of the government's five policy secretaries, Secretary for Administration and Justice Andre Cheong Weng Chon and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, as well as a number of senior officials from various areas such as law enforcement and public health.
The measure will benefit most of Macau's 32,000 government employees whose CNY holiday will be extended until the end of the week. Previously, they were slated to return to work on Thursday. Cheong stressed that the two additional holidays - on Thursday and Friday - would not includes public health staff and police officers as well as other public servants engaged in urgent tasks.
The government employs some 32,000 people, or around 8 percent of the local workforce.
Cheong said the holiday extension aimed to reduce the risk of infection and avoid crowds of people. He urged Macau's private sector to follow suit. Banking sector said tonight that all banks would remain closed until next Monday.
Public servants returning from a visit to Hubei province were told to stay at home in self-isolation for a fortnight.
The press conference also revealed that the government has urged Macau's six gaming operators (SJM, Sands, Galaxy, Wynn, Melco and MGM) to adjust the working hours of their non-resident workers in the wake of the government's decision last week to reduce the operating hours of Macau's main border checkpoint, the Barrier Gate, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Previously, the checkpoint, one of the busiest in the world, operated between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. Many of Macau's about 190,000 non-resident (imported) workers live in Zhuhai and commute daily.
According to the press conference, no Hubei residents have entered Macau since yesterday. A total of 386 were denied entry because they failed to have the necessary health declarations proving that they are coronavirus-free.
The officials also announced that the central government has suspended with immediate effect its individual visit scheme (IVS), which allowed mainland tourists to enter Macau without joining a package tour. This effectively means that no mainland tourists will be allowed into Macau for the time being, as all package tours had already been suspended as part of the previously-announced Wuhan virus-control measures on Saturday. An exception are those who obtained their IVS travel permits before today's decision to suspend the scheme. They can still visit Macau. The same measure applies to Hong Kong.
The officials also said that at the time of the start of the press conference 276 Hubei residents were still in Macau. At the end of last week, the number stood at 1,113. The government has told visitors from Hubei to leave Macau as soon as possible or enter a quarantine facility for a fortnight instead. So far only 4 tourists from Hubei have opted for the quarantine alternative.
All of Macau's seven confirmed novel coronavirus patients are residents of Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei. At the end of September last year, Macau's officially estimated population stood at 676,100.
According to the press conference, 25 Macau residents are currently in Wuhan, which is in lockdown. The officials said that the local government was in daily contact with them.
Ao Ieong also said that the government had ordered Macau's government-subsidized creches to close from tomorrow. She urged non-subsidised creches to follow suit. She also said the government would announce early next week a possible further extension of school pupils' CNY holiday. Last week, the government announced an extension of the CNY break of primary and secondary schools until at least February 10. Macau's 10 tertiary education institutions have indicated they are also considering to extend their CNY holiday.
Ao Ieong also said that the amount of facemasks was sufficient. The government announced last week that it would import 20 million facemasks and that residents and non-resident workers could buy up to 10 facemasks every 10 days from designated pharmacies. However, facemasks can also been bought from non-designated pharmacies and other shops at market prices. Designated pharmacies are those that sell prescription drugs on behalf of the public health sector.
The press conference also revealed that 15 people are currently under medical surveillance in isolation, awaiting the outcome of tests for the Wuhan virus.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) announced today that its headquarters in the UNESCO World Heritage-protected ex-Leal Senado building will be closed to the public as a precautionary measures from tomorrow. The building is popular with tourists.
The government today also reaffirmed in a statement that there is no need for panic buying as Macau has "sufficient" supply of foodstuffs such as cooking oil, cereals and canned foods. The statement stressed that government inspectors are checking up on the supply situation in retail outlets twice a day.
Residents noted today that their city resembled a ghost town because of the dearth of tourists and many locals preferring to stay at home. Virtually all pedestrians wore facemasks. Restaurant managers reported "very poor" business. "We had this evening about a dozen customers for high tea and dinner, usually we would be full to the brim during Chinese New Year. The manager, who asked that he and his restaurants not be identified, said he was "very worried" about the economic impact of the Wuhan virus crisis on Macau. The restaurant seats about 100.
Readers of The Macau Post Daily sent in photos showing that there were hardly any tourists visiting the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Ruins of St. Paul's today. "It looked quite eerie," a local living near the landmark commented. Usually, the landmark requires crowd control measures by the police during the CNY holiday and other public holidays.
Meanwhile, the government announced in a statement tonight that all ferry services between Macau and Kowloon and Tuen Moon in the New Territories will be suspended from Thursday. The ferry link between Macau and the Shun Tak Centre terminal on Hong Kong Island will continue for the time being.
