Macao is streamlining its Covid-19 prevention and control measures in a major shift from its previous operations in the wake of a battery of new cases over the weekend, many of which are related to last Monday’s Cabbie Cluster while others are recent arrivals from mainland China.
The Health Bureau (SSM) underlined that the government is now carrying out its prevention and control measures in a more “precise and effective” way that can prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in the community while “minimising” the impact of Covid-19 measures on residents’ daily lives.
The SSM underlined that it is now adjusting its Covid-19 measures in response to new cases detected in the community in compliance with the central government’s latest guidelines.
Nevertheless, the SSM reaffirmed that for the time being the local government will stick to its dynamic zero-Covid policy, meaning that Macao will generally follow the central government’s latest Covid-19 prevention and control guidelines but with certain adjustments.
SSM Director Alvis Lo Iek Long acknowledged that as various regions in mainland China are being hit by a Covid-19 outbreak, Macao is currently facing “big pressure” in its work on preventing cases from being imported across the border.
According to Lo, Macao’s latest Covid-19 prevention and control measures involve three changes.
Firstly, the government will not require the cancellation of large-scale events as long as organisers can ensure that the events are carried out in line with Covid-19 prevention measures.
Secondly, health workers are now listing Red Code Zones more accurately, where a building will now only be listed as a Red Code Zone if at least two households there have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
A building will now be listed as a Yellow Code Zone if only one household there has been diagnosed with the disease, in which case other residents living there are now only required to undergo four NATs within five days, without having their building locked down.
After this re-classification, all seven existing Red Code Zone residential buildings have now been converted to Yellow Code while two more buildings were added to the list of Yellow Code Zones yesterday, totalling nine so far.
Thirdly, the government will generally refrain from launching a citywide nucleic acid test (NAT) drive in case of the detection of new cases in the community. Instead, Lo said, the government will launch NAT campaigns for high-risk key areas, high-risk key groups of people, or those who have visited the same places as Covid-19 carriers at the same time.
In addition, Lo pointed out that although Macao and Zhuhai have been detecting new Covid-19 cases involving the community, the quarantine-free travel arrangements between the two cities remain intact.
