Alvis Lo Iek Long, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, announced on Monday that non-local students enrolled in Macao’s higher education institutions are also entitled to the government’s facemask purchase scheme from today when the scheme’s 22nd round starts.
Before today’s new facemask measure benefitting non-local students, the scheme only covered local residents and non-resident workers, according to which each of them is entitled to buy 30 facemasks at the fixed price of MOP 24 every 30 days at designated outlets upon presentation of their original Macao ID card or work permit.
Under the 30-day scheme, parents or legal guardians are entitled to buy 30 facemasks for each child aged between three and eight (born between 30 September 2011 and 28 October 2017) after presenting their Macao ID. Children’s facemasks are only sold at government health centres and health stations.
The facemasks sold under the scheme are colloquially known as “government facemasks”.
According to Lo, the non-local students enrolled in the city’s higher education institutions have to present their student cards when buying their facemasks at the scheme’s 85 outlets, comprising 57 designated pharmacies, eight health centres in Macao and Taipa and two health stations in Coloane run by the Health Bureau (SSM), and 18 community association venues.
Lo also announced that the Health Bureau has now changed the opening hours for people to buy their “government facemasks” at its eight health centres and two health stations, where the facemasks will now be sold from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm Monday to Friday, from 2 pm to 6 pm on Sundays, while the 10 outlets will be closed on Saturdays. Before the new opening hours were announced, the 10 outlets were open from 9 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 6 pm every day for the sale of the “government facemasks”, according to Lo. This means that new arrangement will take effect on Saturday.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © Nino Maghradze
