Macao will start a two-week consolidation period – bridging partial lockdown and business as usual – starting this Saturday.
Nucleic acid tests will continue, as will restrictions for certain types of commercial and industrial businesses.
“We are preparing to start the consolidation phase on Saturday but it all depends on the Covid-19 situation over the next few days, so we hope that cases continue to decrease,” said Leong Iek Hou, Head of the Health Bureau’s Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division.
“We are predicting that the consolidation phase will be two weeks but the situation could change,” she said.
Otherwise, there were few dramatic changes in the city’s continuing drive to eradicate the Omicron variant outbreak which first flared up in mid-June, although the number of community cases is falling, with the total currently standing at 1,765.
Just under 3,000 remain under medical observation in hotels, and 70 patients were released from hospital today following successful treatment, bringing the total to 486.
Cross-border movement was almost at a standstill, with 600 arrivals and 800 departures.
Police issued 660 warnings to people who were not following anti-virus regulations between midnight and 3 pm. One person was prosecuted, bringing the total to 28.
Meanwhile, during a visit to the Civil Protection Operation Centre at the Immigration Department Building in Pac On in Taipa today, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng stressed that the Omicron BA.5 variant spreads rapidly and Macao’s current pandemic situation is more complex and severe than ever before.
During his visit, Ho listened to reports from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre and members of the Civil Defense Framework on the anti-pandemic measures in the light of the ongoing outbreak over the past month since it began on 18 June, while also discussing the next stage of Covid-19 measures for the city. Ho also urged them to identify shortcomings [in Covid-19 prevention measures] in order to achieve zero cases within the community as soon as possible, so that society could return to normal.
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong, and staff from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre and the Health Bureau have been reported to give thorough explanations on the arrangements and main concerns for the consolidation phase expected to begin on 23 July.
