A new case of coronavirus after 78 days in the clear
THE 46th Covid-19 case registered in Macau, which was confirmed on Friday after 78 days without a new infection, illustrates the effectiveness of the city’s containment effort, Dr Alvis Lo Iek Long, medical director of the public Conde São Januário Hospital (CHCSJ) has said.
The basis on which he made his comments was that the measures being put in place have effectively confined infections within a manageable area. It has been able to minimize risks of community spread.
“We commenced the month-long special ferry service on June 17 and expected new infections to be recorded [in Macau],” the doctor explained. “The core of our containment effort is to minimize risks to the community by implementing contingencies and procedures.”
As with previous retrieval operations, Macau residents returning through the Hong Kong International Airport are required to obtain a Macau Health Code (previously known as the Health Declaration).
Meanwhile, their health condition is checked and recorded at the Taipa Ferry Terminal, where deep-throat swabs are taken to test for the novel coronavirus.
In the first nine days of the special ferry service, one infection was identified among the 620 returnees, which equates to 0.16% of the returnees. Lo sees this as a very low percentage.
Upon arrival, the returnees will be sent directly to designated hotels for 14 days of quarantine, during which they will be tested for the virus at least two times.
The new case concerns a 57-year-old male Macau resident and Philippines national, who took Cathay Pacific flight 906 from
Manila to Hong Kong at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday.
The resident arrived at the Hong Kong airport and took the 2pm special ferry from the airport to Macau. At the time of his arrival, the patient displayed no symptoms of discomfort or fever. After being tested at the Taipa Ferry Terminal, he was sent to a hotel for medical quarantine. The man’s viral nucleic acid test for Covid-19 returned a positive result.
Medical tests conducted at the hospital showed that the patient has a background of diabetes. He showed no respiratory symptoms but imaging indicated he was suffering from pneumonia in both of his lungs. The patient is now under isolated hospitalization at the public hospital.
In order to further enhance containment measures, the government has announced that Macau residents returning from countries with high infection figures must present a negative Covid-19 test result in order to board the special ferry. Inbound ferries will accept only Macau residents, while outbound ferries will allow all passengers to board.
The government has also improved its daily capability for Covid-19 nucleic acid testing from 6,000 to 16,000 tests.
The government has announced that, after regular communication with its counterparts in Zhuhai and Guangdong, the quota for the waiving of quarantine measures in Zhuhai for Macau residents without a Zhuhai Residence Card will be increased from 1,000 to 3,000 per day. This is to satisfy Macau residents’ requirements to cross the border to Zhuhai.