Addressing yesterday’s daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus situation,Health Bureau (SSM) Director Lei Chin Ion said that the recovery of Macau’s first novel coronavirus patient and her discharge from hospital was of great significance in the city’s ongoing fight against the epidemic, proving that the illness is curable and boosting the local government’s confidence in fighting the epidemic.
The health chief also said that the experience gained from the city’s first novelcoronavirus case – which was confirmed on January 22 – showed that early detection, isolation and treatment will lead to better treatment results.
Lei made the remarks yesterday evening at the bureau's meeting hall.
In a statement yesterday afternoon, the government’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced that the first novel coronavirus patient, a 52-year-old woman from Wuhan, has recovered from the illness and was discharged yesterday. The woman departed from Macau under police escort yesterday afternoon and will stay in the adajcent city of Zhuhai for the time being.
Macau has so far recorded 10 confirmed novel coronavirus cases, including the patient discharged from hospital yesterday, comprising seven tourists from Wuhan and three Macau residents.
The statement by the centre noted that the woman took a high-speed train from Wuhan to Zhuhai and entered Macau on January 19. She sought treatment at the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, complaining of a cough, on January 21. She tested positive for the virus and was diagnosed with double pneumonia, after which she was moved to the hospital’s isolation ward.
“After half a month of intensive treatment and care by the medical team of the Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, the patient’s condition continued to improve, all laboratory indicators were normal and two pathogenic tests were negative,” the statement said.
After evaluating the patient’s condition, her medical team decided that she met all the required standards to be discharged from hospital, the statement pointed out.
During yesterday’s press conference, Lei said that Macau’s first novel coronavirus patient had met all the standards in the criteria set by the National HealthCommission (NHC) for a patient to be discharged from hospital. Lei said that medical staff in the hospital treated and took care of the city’s first novelcoronavirus patient in strict line with protective measures so that “the aim of preventing any medical staff being infected with the virus has been achieved”.
‘Morale is good’
“Morale among Health Bureau medical staff is good, and they will continue to work hard and carefully protect themselves [from being infected with the virus],” Lei said, reassuring residents that the government is confident that it will win the battle against the virus.
During yesterday’s press conference, Lo Iek Long, a consultant pulmonologists at the public hospital, said that the hospital’s treatment of the first novelcoronavirus patient was carried out “smoothly”. “Her recovery has brought happiness not only to the medical team but also the whole Macau SpecialAdministrative Region (MSAR) government,” Lo said.
4 conditions
Accordingto Lo, the first patient met all the four conditions set by the National Health Commission for a patient to be released from isolation and discharged from hospital, namely 1) the patient has had a normal body temperature for at least three consecutive days, 2) the patient’s respiratory symptoms have significantly improved, 3) the patient’s pulmonary imaging shows significant resolution of inflammation, and 4) swab samples taken from the throat test negative for the virus twice, and the second test must be carried out at least one day after the first test has been carried out.
34,000-pataca treatment fee
Lei revealed that the treatment bill of Macau’s first novel coronavirus patient amounts to 34,000 patacas. According to Lei, the patient told the authorities that she does not have enough money to pay the bill and applied to be exempted from paying the amount. Lei said that his bureau was assessing the patient’s application for exemption.
The public hospital’s clinical director, Lei Wai Seng, noted that local residents do not need to pay for the treatment of statutory infectious diseases at the public hospital.
Lei Chin Ion said that according to the local infectious disease law, non-local residents can apply to be exempted from paying the bill after being treated for an infectious disease at the public hospital. It is the director of the Health Bureau – him – who decides whether to exempt the applicant from paying the full or part of the amount of the bill, after taking the public interest and the applicant’s financial situation into consideration, Lei Chin Ion quoted the law as saying.
Accordingto Lei Wai Seng, the 34,000-pataca bill has been calculated based on the medicines used on the patient, the number of imaging checks and laboratory tests carried out on her, and the duration of her stay at the public hospital.For medical treatments conducted at the public hospital, local residents only need to pay 70 percent of a bill, while non-resident workers have to pay the full amount of the bill, while tourists have to pay double the normal amount ofthe bill, according to Lei Wai Seng.
Despite the first novel coronavirus patient having returned to the mainland, Lei Chin Ion said that the local authorities have various channels to claim the amount, in the case that her application for exemption from paying the bill is finally not approved.
Lei Chin Ion noted that in general for non-local residents who fail to pay a debt to the local authorities and leave Macau – such as a fine for illegally smoking, they will be banned from re-entering Macau. According to Lei Chin Ion, one way that a non-local resident typically uses to pay a debt to the local authorities is by remittance.
Closure of 4 hotels
During yesterday’s press conference, Inês Chan Lou, who heads the Licensing and Inspection Department of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), said that the 3-star Grand Harbour Hotel, which is located near the Patane Market Municipal Complex, had suspended its operation yesterday. She said that three hotels in Cotai, namely the 5-star deluxe Four Seasons, the 5-star St. Regisand the 5-start Conrad, would suspend operations from today, involving 1,459 guestrooms.
Chan said that the four hotels decided to suspend operations as they only had a very small number of guests due to the epidemic, in order to save operating costs.“It is a commercial decision,” she said, adding that the hotels have informed her office of their respective decisions to suspend operations.
Macau had123 hotels and guesthouses at the end of last year, according to official statistics.
Update on Diamond Princess cruise ship
Meanwhile,SSM Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Director Lam Chong said during the press conference that in addition to two Macau residents who are holders of Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) passports – whom he mentioned on Wednesday, three other Macau residents who hold Portuguese passports are also among the passengers on the Diamond Princess cruise ship which is currently quarantined off the port of Yokohama in Japan. Therefore, the number of Macau residents on the ship is five.
After 10 people on the ship had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, 10 more people on board have tested positive for the virus, raising the number of infections detected on the vessel to 20, according to RTHK.
According to RTHK, Japan quarantined the vessel carrying 3,711 people and began testing those on board for the virus after a former passenger, an 80-year-old Hong Kong man who had disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25, was diagnosed with the illness on Saturday. Some 1,000 of the 3,711 people on board are crew members.
According to RTHK, the rest of the passengers and crew on board the ship will be required to stay on the vessel for 14 days. The ship arrived in Yokohama on Monday evening.
World Dream cruise ship in HK
Lei also said that 15 Macau residents holding MSAR passports are among the passengers on the World Dream cruise ship which is currently quarantined at the Kai Tak cruise terminal in Hong Kong
With the crew, there are a total of around 3,600 people stuck on the World Dream ship under quarantine by Hong Kong’s health authorities, according to RTHK. Eight mainlanders who had been on board the ship between January 19 and 24 tested positive for the novel coronavirus later.
