Rapid antigen test (RAT) results are no longer required at numerous care facilities in Macao, starting today.
The Social Welfare Bureau (IAS) announced that service users, staff and visitors to the city’s care homes and daycare centres for senior citizens, rehabilitation centres, respite care centres for the disabled, childcare centres and day activity and vocational rehabilitation centres will no longer be required to show negative RAT result when entering the facilities, apart from undergoing a temperature check.
In light of the overall development of the Covid-19 situation in Macao, the bureau said, there has been no recent cluster infections in residential and day social facilities, and the situation has been stable.
The IAS underlined, however, that regardless of whether any prospective visitors have ever been infected with Covid-19, those who show systemic symptoms such as fever, fatigue and muscle pain, or respiratory symptoms such as sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose and cough should undergo a RAT before entering the facilities.
Since the RAT results may be negative on the first or second day of symptoms of Covid-19 infection, the bureau said, those who test negative for the first time should undergo an RAT on each of the following two days and upload the results to their reporting platform.
The IAS stressed that anyone with a positive RAT result should not enter any care homes and centres.
