The Macau government announced today that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen by two more to 37.
According to a statement by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Control Centre, the two imported cases - both involving local residents who returned from Portugal - were confirmed today.
The 36th patient is a 21-year-old male local resident who returned from Portugal. On March 13, he took Emirates Airways flight EK194 (seat 40A) from Lisbon with a stopover in Dubai where he took flight EK380 (seat 46D) to Hong Kong. He arrived in Macau on March 15 where he was told to go into 14 days of home quarantine, based on the Health Bureau's regulations at that time. On March 17, he was taken by ambulance to the special emergency department of the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre after coming down with a fever and headache. However, he tested negative twice for the novel coronavirus disease, after which he continued his home quarantine. He underwent a nucleic acid test yesterday which confirmed his COVID-19 infection today.
The 37th patient is a 32-year-old local male resident holding Portuguese nationality, the fiancé of Macau's 11th patient, a South Korean flight attendant. Both visited Portugal and took a flight from Porto on March 12 via Dubai to Hong Kong. They arrived in Macau by bus via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge on March 14. He tested negative for COVID-19 on March 16 and 18. However, a follow-up test confirmed his novel coronavirus infection today.
Both patients are undergoing treatment at the isolation ward of the public hospital. The statement described each patient's condition as "normal."
