Staff at Macao’s parcel pick-up points will soon be covered by the government’s regular Covid-19 testing programme, as goods bought through mainland online shopping platforms might be contaminated with the novel coronavirus.
The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced that affected staff members will be required to undergo a Covid-19 nucleic acid test (NAT) every seven days.
Goods that people in Macao buy through mainland online shopping platforms are normally not directly delivered to Macao, and instead they are delivered to depots in Zhuhai or Zhongshan. Staff from Macao travel to the depots to pick up the goods, and arrange for them to be delivered to Macao.
The centre said that because goods bought from the mainland online also carry the risk of contamination, the Health Bureau (SSM) has decided that its regular Covid-19 testing programme for key groups of people working in certain occupations will soon cover those working for online-shopping parcel pick-up points in Macao who come into contact with goods. No exact start date has been divulged.
The centre reaffirmed that parcels and letters delivered from Covid-19-hit areas carry a risk of having been contaminated with the novel coronavirus, so those who come into contact with such parcels and letters also carry a risk of having been infected with Covid-19.
According to the centre, the government has urged members of the public to receive parcels and letters delivered from Covid-19-hit areas less often. Those who need to receive parcels and letters delivered from areas affected by Covid-19 should take precautionary measures to carefully handle the items.
The government has also requested organisations that handle a large number of parcels and letters delivered from Covid-19-hit areas, such as courier service companies, to take additional precautionary measures for their staff members, such as arranging for them to be tested for Covid-19 regularly.
The Economic and Technological Development Bureau is asking the city’s online-shopping parcel pick-up points to provide the bureau with their staff members’ personal information, after which bureau officials will pass information to the Health Bureau.
The new measure came after a government announcement on Tuesday stating that all those working for local importers, distributors or supermarkets who come into contact with goods are now covered by the Health Bureau’s regular Covid-19 testing programme.
In related news, the Macao Pharmaceutical Supervision and Administration Bureau has authorised the import of 23 types Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits.
The bureau urged residents to always choose reputable shops, including pharmacies, when buying Covid-19 rapid antigen test kits.
According to the bureau, the 23 products are manufactured in the mainland, as well as France, Germany, South Korea and the US, The Macau Post Daily reported.
