Snapshots of daily life as city fights COVID-19

Pedestrians wearing facemasks rush to cross the road under the rain.Youngsters wearing facemasks wait at a bus stop near Jardim da Vitória (“Victory Garden”). A new “No Smoking” sign has been added to a bus stop area where smoking is banned. The previous government’s grey-coloured “no smoking” signs at bus stops were hardly visible. An advertising screen displays a poster showing how to properly wear and dispose of facemasks.Applicants wearing facemasks submit documents for the

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

MGM provides cleaning services to social enterprises in anti-COVID-19 fight

Macau gaming operator MGM said today that it has become the first company in Macau to provide cleaning services to social enterprises, sheltered workshops, vocational training centres and treatment and educational centres. According to an MGM statement received by The Macau Post Daily this afternoon, the Fuhong Society of Macau, Association of Parents of People with Intellectual Disabilities of Macau, Macau Special Olympics and Caritas Macau are covered by the measure. The statement

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

HK pet dog infected with COVID-19: govt

HONG KONG – The pet dog of a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patient in Hong Kong was confirmed to be infected with the disease, in a likely case of human-to-animal transmission, authorities said yesterday.The canine, which belongs to a 60-year-old female patient, had repeatedly tested “weak positive” for the new coronavirus since Friday, when it was quarantined at an animal centre.The city’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said repeated tests suggest the dog –

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Local pet owners unworried about COVID-19 affecting their furbabies

Ever since it was reported on Friday that the pet dog of a Hong Kong COVID-19 patient had tested a “weak positive” for the virus and was undergoing 14 days quarantine, people have been in a quandary about what to do. Local pet owners that The Macau Post Daily has spoken to are not worried at all.Horror stories have been coming out of the mainland and Hong Kong of pets being thrown off balconies and vets being inundated with requests from pet owners to euthanise their pets.Three local pet

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

COVID-19 test station moved from Workers Stadium to Macau Forum

Addressing yesterday’s 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 that the government has decided to move its COVID-19 medical examination station at the Workers Stadium near the Barrier Gate checkpoint to the Macau Forum complex in Zape from 8 a.m. today, after the number of border checkpoint arrivals required to undergo

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

IFTM ranked 14th for hospitality & leisure management globally

The Macau Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM) was ranked 14th among the world’s best universities for hospitality and leisure management from QS World University Ranking, the public tertiary education institution said in a statement yesterday.According to the “QS World University Rankings by Subjects 2020” – which was released yesterday, IFTM was ranked 14th worldwide, 2nd in Asia (after the Hong Kong Polytechnic University – the 7th in the world) and 1st in Macau, among higher

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Science Centre partially reopens next Monday

Macau Science Centre (MSC) announced in a statement yesterday that it will partially reopen on March 9 while its Convention Centre will remain closed.As the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic was becoming “stable” in Macau, the MSC said in the statement that it would reopen next Monday and provide limited services to the public.The opening hours of the MSC will be revised to 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. from March 9, the statement said.Cleaning and disinfection measures will be

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Illegal money-changer nabbed re-entering Macau

An illegal money-changer, who left Macau after cheating a gambler out of HK$440,000 (US$56,620) in August last year, was arrested on Sunday when he re-entered Macau, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesmen Leng Kam Lon said during a regular press conference on Tuesday.Leng said that the suspect, a 38-year-old mainland man surnamed Zhang, claimed to be unemployed. The police are still investigating the whereabouts of the stolen money.According to Leng, the male victim contacted Zhang on August 6 last

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Police warn of danger of ‘The Salt Challenge’

Online videos showing people swallowing large amounts of salt in “The Salt Challenge” is the latest dangerous social media trend, the Judiciary Police (PJ) said in a statement yesterday, urging the public, especially youngsters, not to mimic the prank.According to the PJ statement, the Judiciary Police were informed by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) recently that following the dangerous “Tripping Jump Challenge” and “Scarf Tripping” pranks trending on social media

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Vulnerable families to get extra-subsidy over COVID-19 crisis

The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) said in a statement yesterday that about 3,200 vulnerable households will receive an extra subsidy to tide them over during the current COVID-19 crisis. According to the statement, the extra subsidy will be paid from today and cost the government about 19.3 million patacas. The amount of the subsidy depends on the number of members each household has. A one-member household will, for example, receive a one-off subsidy of 4,350 patacas (US$540), while a

March 5, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt postpones Macau Arts Festival to next year over COVID-19 threat

The Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced today that the 31st Macau Arts Festival (FAM) slated for May will be postponed to next year. According to an IC statement, the decision to postpone the annual festival by a year was taken "after a careful evaluation of the risks of the [COVID-19] epidemic."The statement noted that the bureau "has been closely monitoring the progression of the epidemic. At present, the situation of the epidemic keeps on changing and the

March 4, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

CTM closes Personal Homepage Service

Macau's main telecom operator CTM has announced that its Personal Homepage Service will no longer be available. According to a CTM statement received by The Macau Post Daily today, the service will be terminated on March 17. The statement said its decision was "due to the popularisation of multimedia online storage services." The statement advised clients to "log in to your Personal Homepage Service account and retrieve your stored files before the abovementioned date

March 4, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Macau regulator lowers base rate to 1.50 pct

The Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) today lowered its base rate (BR) of the discount window by 50 basis points to 1.50 percent.   Macau's quasi-central bank said in statement that "as the pataca is linked to the Hong Kong dollar, the movements of policy rates in Hong Kong and Macau should be basically consistent in order to maintain the effective operation of the linked exchange rate system. "As a result, the AMCM followed its Hong Kong counterpart to adjust the base

March 4, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

9th COVID-19 patient discharged, only 1 still in hospital

Addressing yesterday evening’s daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, Lo Iek Long, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, announced the discharge of the ninth COVID-19 patient – who also happened to be the ninth confirmed case in Macau – yesterday afternoon, a 29-year-old local woman.Yesterday’s discharged patient is the second local discharged patient. Now only one patient – a 64-year-old local woman who is

March 4, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0