Coach drivers ask Ho for help over COVID-19 crisis

A group of coach drivers asked Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng yesterday to tide them over during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic. Representatives of the group handed a petition letter to an official outside Government Headquarters, accompanied by veteran lawmaker-cum-unionist José Maria Pereira Coutinho, who heads the Macau Civil Servants Association (ATFPM) but often also defends the interests of workers from the private sector.According to a statement sent to The Macau Post Daily, the

February 18, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Local man claims he’s from Wuhan after shoplifting

When a suspected supermarket thief was caught by an off-duty senior police officer and a security guard on Saturday, he yelled, “I am from Wuhan” and “I am mentally ill”, after which he was taken to hospital to be tested for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Choi Iok Kin said during a press conference yesterday. The suspect is a 30-year-old unemployed local resident surnamed Chao. On Saturday around noon, Chao went shopping in a supermarket in

February 18, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Govt imposes 14-day quarantine on migrant workers

The Macau government announced today that migrant workers who have been in mainland China two weeks before their intended entry into Macau need to go into 14 days of quarantine first. The measure was announced by senior officials during the daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre about the COVID-19 epidemic. The officials said non-resident workers (as migrant workers are officially known in Macau) arriving from Zhuhai must first go into 14 days of

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Casinos can reopen on Thursday, given up to 30 days to return to full operation

Addressing yesterday’s daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong announced that the city’s casinos can reopen for business on Thursday, following their 15-day government-ordered closure to reduce the risk of the spread of the highly infectious disease.Lei said that casinos that are not “fully prepared” to relaunch their operations right away can apply to defer reopening their doors for up to 30 days.

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Judiciary Police warn of ‘Tripping Jump Challenge’

Online videos of a dangerous prank called “Tripping Jump Challenge” are circulating around the world, particularly by teenagers on social networking platforms, the Judiciary Police (PJ) warned in a statement at the weekend, urging Macau’s youngsters not to mimic the prank.According to Saturday’s statement, the prank, in which two people get the person in the centre to jump, the two on either side of the victim then kick the legs of the person in the middle causing the “victim” to

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Solidarity, not stigma: editorial

I fully agree with World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus that concerning the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic “this is the time for solidarity, not stigma”. Significantly, Tedros (Ethiopian people’s names end in a patronymic rather than a family name the same as Chinese names) made the remarks during a visit to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he met with President Felix Tshisekedi to brief

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Melco, Gung Luen set up fund for workers affected by COVID-19 epidemic

Melco Resorts & Entertainment has donated five million patacas for the setting up of a special aid fund in collaboration with the Macau Federation of Trade Unions (FAOM) to help workers with unstable incomes and are being affected by the COVID-19 crisis, the gaming operator said in a statement yesterday.The federation is generally known as Gung Luen, its name in Cantonese.According to the statement, the initiative is an addition to the gaming company’s HK$20 million donation to Wuhan and

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Resumption of public administration’s ‘basic’ services doesn’t mean return to normal: doctor

Addressing yesterday’s daily press conference about Macau’s novel coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, Lo Iek Long, clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said that today’s resumption of the public administration’s “basic” services does not mean that residents could gradually resume their normal lifestyles, pointing out that the government has decided to resume its “basic” services as their continued suspension would “seriously” affect some

February 17, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Indonesian consulate hands out 5,000 facemasks in Macau

The Hong Kong-based Indonesian Consulate-General has handed out 5,000 facemasks to Indonesian migrant workers in Macau, public broadcaster TDM-Radio Macau reported today. According to the report, each Indonesian national was entitled to five facemasks, while each association of Indonesian migrant workers received 500 facemasks free of charge. The consulate-general is simultaneously accredited to Macau. The report said that the consulate began to hand out the facemasks in Macau

February 16, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

No info on Anonymous cyberattack: police

The Judiciary Police (PJ)  said today that a cyberattack by Anonymous, which had been announced by the global hacktivist group earlier this month, "apparently" did not take place as slated on Thursday. "We did not receive any information about damage caused by the cyber pirates group Anonymous," a PJ spokesperson told public broadcaster TDM-Radio Macau, adding, "apparently it [the attack] didn't take place."A PJ statement early last week had warned the

February 16, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Kun Iam Treasury Opening Festival cancelled over COVID-19 threat

The Macau government announced today that the annual Kun Iam Treasury Opening Festival, which traditionally takes place on the 26th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, has been cancelled due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) menace. The festival, which usually attracts huge crowds of the faithful, was scheduled to be held in the night from next Tuesday to Wednesday at eight temples. Kun Iam is the local spelling of the name of the Buddhist divinity known as Guanyin elsewhere. Due to

February 15, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Macau rules out quarantine for those arriving from mainland

The local government today ruled out the Hong Kong-style measure of implementing 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving from the mainland in Macau as part of its host of measures to prevent the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) from spreading.During a daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong pointed out that "10,000 to 20,000" Macau people live in the adjacent city of Zhuhai in Guangdong province.

February 15, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Hospital urges family to collect body of 102-year-old man

The public Conde de S. Januario Hospital Centre has urged the family of a 102-year-old man who passed away at the facility on February 3 to collect his mortal remains.  According to a statement by the Health Bureau (SSM), Lau Heng had lived in a second-floor flat of a building in Patio do Rochedo.The statement reminded the late centenarian's next of kin that if the body is not collected within 7 days after today's statement, it will be treated as an unclaimed body. 

February 14, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0

Macau int'l eco-forum/expo axed over COVID-19 threat

The Macau government announced today the cancellation of the 2020 Macau International Environmental Cooperation Forum & Exhibition (2020MIECF) due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat. According to a statement by the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS), the event hosted annually by the local government and co-organized by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) was originally scheduled to be held on March

February 14, 2020 | BY admin

Comment: 0