There are two more patients who had visited Macau that have been diagnosed with COVID-19, Lam Chong, who heads the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control of the Health Bureau (SSM), said on Thursday at the daily press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.
The two patients’ infection with the novel coronavirus has been confirmed by the mainland health authorities, Lam pointed out.
According to Lam, Zhuhai officials reported this week that one of the patients, a 50-year-old woman, was from Wuhan and had visited Macau with a friend. She stayed Macau from January 20 to 27 and fell sick on February 12. The patient did not have any symptoms for more than 14 days after leaving Macau, Lam said.
Her friend tested positive for COVID-19 after both had left Macau and, according to Lam, it is suspected that the source of the patient’s infection was her friend. Therefore, the chance that the patient was infected in Macau and spread the disease to others here was low, Lam said.
The second patient, a 61-year-old man, was diagnosed with the disease in Hainan province. He travelled from Hunan to Hainan on January 6 and from Hainan to Zhuhai with his family on January 18, and then arrived in Macau the next day, leaving Macau on January 22. He showed novel cornavirus infection symptoms on January 24, and was diagnosed with the disease in Hainan on February 10. Lam said that the patient was possibly infected in Macau, but he only came down with symptoms over 10 days after leaving Macau. Lam said that therefore the patient’s chance of having infected others in Macau was low.
According to information provided by the Health Bureau on Wednesday, 31 COVID-19 patients had been in Macau before they were diagnosed with the disease elsewhere – such as on the mainland, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan. Including the two cases announced on Thursday, the number has climbed to 33.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © Government Information Bureau (GCS)
