Macao is bracing for another day of mass testing – a sharp reminder of the repeated laborious testings carried out this summer – after the caseload for the most recent outbreak reached nine.
The entire population of 677,300 has been ordered to undergo a nucleic acid test (NAT) between 7 am tomorrow (1 November) to 11 am on 2 November. Health officials are desperate to complete testing before Typhoon Nalgae strikes the city. Residents have been strongly advised to wear KN95 masks to testing centres. Huge queues have already begun to form at the city’s NAT centres.
All schools in Macao will hold classes as normal and banks and government services will still be operational. Anyone who has taken a NAT today will not need to do another tomorrow and no one else is exempt from testing.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre stated that the two most recent cases are a 53-year-old female and a 26-year-old male who are both Macao residents, both of whom have been vaccinated.
They are the wife and son of the 57-year-old male who tested positive for Covid-19 while locked down in Wang Heng Building, in Fai Chi Kei area, on 28 October.
The son’s NAT result was positive yesterday (30th) evening, and the wife’s NAT result this morning (31). They currently have symptoms such as dry cough and sore throat, and are being treated in isolation treatment facilities; the risk of community transmission is low.
Health Bureau Director Alvis Lo said: “We are prepared if the pandemic arrives. We are ready to take all necessary measures to stop the spread of the virus in the community. The main objective of tomorrow’s mass test is to find potential cases.”
Last updated: 8:51 pm
