IAM boosts cleaning of street vendor areas to fight COVID-19

The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that in order to decrease the risk of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) spreading around local communities, it is boosting cleaning and disinfecting work around local public facilities, now also including areas for street vendors.According to the statement, the measures are to protect residents and vendors’ safety and environmental hygiene when using public facilities during the ongoing fight against COVID-19.The bureau has hired

February 14, 2020 | BY admin

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Govt launches financial support to help residents cope with COVID-19 impact

Addressing yesterday’s daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong announced a raft of financial support measures with the aim of relieving the heavy burden on residents and businesses amid the “huge” impact on the local economy due to the epidemic.Lee revealed a string of measures such as net profit tax and income tax deductions, various tax exemptions, a special interest-free loan scheme for small- and

February 14, 2020 | BY admin

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Ho congratulates new HKMAO chief

Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng has congratulated Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Vice-Chairman Xia Baolong on his concurrent appointment as director of the State Council Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) today , according to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) last night. According to the statement, Ho sent the congratulatory message in his own name and on behalf of the government of the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) to

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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Welshman to head Macau's Catholic university: report

Macau's private University of Saint Joseph, which is co-owned by the local Roman-Catholic diocese and the Lisbon-based Portuguese Catholic University (UCP), will be headed by Stephen Morgan, a deacon from Wales who has worked for the tertiary education institution since 2018, public broadcaster TDM-Radio Macau reported yesterday. The report cited unnamed sources as saying that Roman-Catholic Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang has chosen Morgan as the successor of Peter Stilwell, 73, who confirmed

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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MGM says losing US$1.5 million a day due to Macau casino closure over COVID-19 threat

US gaming company MGM Resorts International said this week that it is currently losing US$1.5 million (12 million patacas) a day in Macau, where all the city's 41 casinos have been closed by government order since February 5 for at least 15 days in order to reduce the risk of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, Bloomberg reported today. Moreover, the Nevada-based casino operator said in a statement today (Macau time) that it withdrew its earnings forecast for this year, citing the

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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HK-Macau office gets new chief

The State Council has removed Zhang Xiaoming from his position as director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), moving him down to the post of deputy director of the office as part of a major shake-up, according to a Xinhua report today.    Zhang's role as HKMAO director has been given to Xia Baolong, 68, a vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and a former Communist Party of China (CPC) secretary of Zhejiang

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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IAM monitors H5N6 outbreaks in Vietnam, Germany

The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that it is monitoring the outbreak of the H5N6 bird flu in some regions in Vietnam and Germany, pointing out that H5N6 is “highly pathogenic”.Bird Flu H5N6 is mainly found in Vietnam’s provinces of Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An and the Hohenlohe region of Baden-Württemberg state in Germany, the statement noted.According to the statement, the bureau said based on the local import records, Macau has not recently imported any

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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Rogue hawkers found outside wholesale market: IAM

Groups of unlicensed hawkers were caught selling fresh produce right outside the wholesale market in Ilha Verde yesterday morning, a statement from the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said yesterday.According to the statement, the bureau went to check on the areas outside the wholesale market and cracked down on rogue hawkers selling goods.The statement said that the move was part of its effort to reduce the number of people gathering in one place to lower the risk of disease from spreading as

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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IAM intensifies public area cleaning to fight COVID-19

The Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday that it continues to coordinate with a local cleaning company in cleaning local public areas with diluted bleach, one of its measures to help battle the novel coronavirus now officially known as COVID-19.Since Tuesday, apart from cleaning the streets, the cleaning company has also begun to clean and disinfect public areas using pump sprayers containing diluted bleach. The public areas include sewer drains, pavement barriers and

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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30 cases of people buying facemasks using other’s IDs: police

A total of 30 cases of suspected purchases of facemasks using other people’s Macau ID cards have been investigated by the police, Public Security Police (PSP) PR Department Chief Lei Tak Fai said in a daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre about the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat yesterday.Since the first COVID-19 patient was discovered in Macau late last month, the government has rolled out its own stock of facemasks for holders of Macau ID

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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Govt urges people to stay at home ‘at this critical moment’ of fighting COVID-19

Addressing the daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou said the authorities noticed yesterday that more residents were out and about and some restaurants were full of patrons, which showed that residents have started to let their guard down, urging them to persevere in keeping up all the necessary preventive measures, namely by

February 13, 2020 | BY admin

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26 hotels closed over COVID-19 threat: govt

The Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) announced today that the number of hotels and guesthouses temporarily closed because of a lack of guests and personnel due to the COVID-19 epidemic has reached 26. According to official statistics, Macau had 123 hotels and guesthouses at the end of last year. Among the 26 units, three closed their doors today. MGTO official Ines Chan Lou announced the figures during a daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and

February 12, 2020 | BY admin

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Govt sells 1 million facemasks in 1 day

Macau's Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said that more than one million government-arranged facemasks were sold today, the first day of the third round of facemaks sold by the government at the fixed price of 8 patacas (US$1) to local residents and non-resident workers. Macau has a population of about 680,000, including nearly 200,000 non-resident workers, most of them from the Chinese mainland and the Philippines. Under the government's purchase scheme, each

February 12, 2020 | BY admin

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One more COVID-19 patient discharged from Macau hospital

One more novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patient in Macau has been discharged, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced at his daily press conference about the viral menace today. According to Health Bureau (SSM) officials, the 21-year-old teacher from Wuhan was discharged today after 16 days in isolation treatment at the public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre. She was the second COVID-19 patient to have been discharged.The first patient, a 52-year-hold housewife

February 12, 2020 | BY admin

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