Four more people died of the novel coronavirus disease on Monday, raising Macao’s official Covid-19 death toll to 56, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday.
According to the Centre, the four male victims, aged between 61 and 98, had all suffered from underlying health problems and none had been vaccinated.
The first six of the 56 Covid-19 fatalities were reported during Macao’s summer Covid-19 outbreak mid-last year when the government was pursuing a dynamic zero-Covid approach.
The seventh fatality was reported on 13 December, which came after the government switched to an adjusted anti-Covid-19 approach that implicitly allows constant transmissions of the novel coronavirus in the community.
The Centre also announced that 110 new patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease were admitted to the Health Bureau’s (SS) isolation and treatment facilities on Monday.
Macao’s official cumulative number of confirmed Covid-19 cases stands at 2,803, of which 2,502 have recovered.
Before the government abandoned its long-running dynamic zero-Covid model early last month, Macao had widely been described as an “oasis” in the global Covid-19 desert, considering its markedly small number of infections and very low death toll.
Macao recorded its first Covid-19 case on 22 January 2020.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U recently said that the government estimated that Macao had its first peak of Covid-19 infections between 21 and 23 December, following the commencement of the government’s easing of Covid-19 curbs early last month. The policy secretary, whose portfolio includes the public health sector, also urged residents to be well prepared for the possible “periodic” occurrence of peaks of Covid-19 infections in the future.
The government has underlined that Macao needs to always adopt a Covid-19 approach in line with the mainland authorities’ measures.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said on Christmas Eve that he expected people in Macao to be able to return to normal life like in the pre-pandemic period after going through the current “difficult and tough” period hit by widespread Covid-19 infections, The Macau Post Daily reported.
