Macao’s partial lockdown could start to ease next week, but the city needs to hit zero Covid-19 cases first.
Leong Iek Hou, Head of the Health Bureau’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division, told the daily Covid-19 briefing that the aim is to enter a “consolidation” phase next week as long as the virus situation remains under control.
“If community cases are decreasing and we reach zero infections it means we are controlling the situation,” she said.
“At the moment we have eight different infection sources, and we need to evaluate the level of risk that they represent.”
“Everything depends on the number of cases and the situation in the community.”
Leong said that “consolidation” would not entail a return to normal with businesses opening once again, but that some restrictions would continue, adding that this week had been designated “Zero Covid” week.
She added that of eight cases in the community, four are close contacts, two were detected during mass-testing, and two were patients in the hospital. Thirty-two patients were released today, bringing the total to 416 since the outbreak of the Omicron variant. Of the current 1,755 cases, 17 per cent are over 60, 19 per cent are unvaccinated, while 3 per cent had had only one dose.
Macao continued its mass-testing drive today, which is scheduled to come to an end on Saturday; health officials warned that about 1,000 residents regularly fail to turn up for their tests. Anyone who does so repeatedly will see their health code turn red, and be sent to quarantine if they still refuse.
Lei Wai Seng, Clinical Director of the Conde São Januário Hospital Centre, said that many services which had been suspended at the Hospital Conde de Sao Januario, such as oncology and obstetrics, were now returning to normal.
“During the consolidation phase residents must avoid going out and we ask them to stay longer at home,” he said.
“We might allow some activities to reopen but residents need to understand that there could be risks involved.”
He added that currently 30 old people are in chronic or serious conditions and 2-3 children are under observation in clinical centres in Macao.
Health services are following the situation of almost 22,000 residents that are in red and yellow zones, hotels and hospitals.
