The government's Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced today at a press conference at 5 p.m. that no new case of the Wuhan virus has been confirmed in the preceding 24 hours.
The centre's officials also said that Macau's seven confirmed novel coronavirus patients, all of them tourists from Wuhan, continued to undergo treatment in the isolation ward of the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre. The officials said none of them was having a fever, and they described their conditions as mild.
The press conference also revealed that until 3 p.m. yesterday the Health Bureau has so far recorded 114 suspected novel coronavirus cases, including the seven cases that has meanwhile been confirmed. A total of 101 of the cases have meanwhile tested negative to the virus, while the test results of six cases are still pending. Four of the six patients are Macau residents.
Meanwhile, trade unionists petitioned the government today, demanding that Macau's casino be closed for at least a fortnight to protect gaming sector workers against possible infection with the novel coronavirus.
Unlike cinemas, which closed last week over the Wuhan virus threat, Macau's casinos have stayed open 24/7. The government has instructed gaming operators to ensure that all their casino staff wear facemasks when on duty and also to conduct body temperature checks on all people entering and exiting casino premises. The government has also instructed the city's six gaming operators (SJM, Galaxy, Sands, Wynn, Melco, and MGM) to adjust the working hours of their non-resident workers, many of whom live in the adjacent city of Zhuhai, in the wake of shortened operating hours at Macau's main border checkpoint, the Barrier Gate. The government also told the operators to ensure that the non-resident workers are provided with proper transport to and from the city's various border checkpoints.
