*Updated: 5:18 pm on 30 December 2021
The 62-year-old local man returning to Macao from the United States whose asymptomatic Covid-19 case was announced on Tuesday has been diagnosed with the Omicron variant, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday.
It is Macao’s second Omicron variant case in as many days.
The centre said that the case remained asymptomatic until Covid-19 symptoms appeared today – the case has now been added to the city’s novel coronavirus tally, which has gone up to 79.
The man flew from Los Angeles to Singapore on Christmas Day and took a connecting flight from Singapore to Macao on Monday where he tested positive for the novel coronavirus upon arrival.
The Health Bureau (SSM) then carried out viral genome sequencing for the case, which confirmed the man’s infection with the Omicron variant.
The centre reaffirmed that the Omicron variant is even more contagious than Delta, urging Macao residents who are currently staying in a foreign country to avoid unnecessary travel.
Macao confirmed its first imported Omicron variant case on Monday. The patient, a 23-year-old local resident studying in New York, also arrived in Macao from the US via Singapore. He has since come down with pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.
The SSM began early this month to separately classify and announce asymptomatic Covid-19 cases and confirmed Covid-19 cases, The Macau Post Daily reported.
