Addressing Monday’s press conference about Macao’s novel coronavirus situation, Alvis Lo Iek Long, a clinical director of the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre, said that the government has carried out a string of measures in preparation for a possible Covid-19 rebound in Macao as winter is approaching, including a contingency plan to set up a makeshift hospital with 500 beds for Covid-19 patients.
Lo also said that the government cannot disclose the possible location for the possible makeshift hospital for the time being, but it will certainly choose a location far away from residential neighbourhoods.
Lo made the remarks when asked by the media as to how the government will tackle a possible Covid-19 rebound in the city in the upcoming winter. Lo said that despite the fact that Macao’s current Covid-19 situation is “good”, residents should not let their guard down and the city has to readily prepare for any possible Covid-19 risk, amid the still serious Covid-19 pandemic elsewhere. Lo pledged that the government will continue to stick to its Covid-19 prevention and control principle of guarding against imported cases and the possibility of locally transmitted cases.
Lo underlined that the government has carried out a raft of measures to prepare for a possible Covid-19 epidemic in Macao. Firstly, the government has been constantly increasing its Covid-19 testing capability, which has now been raised to almost 30,000 people per day, Lo noted, adding that the government can further raise the number of nucleic acid tests (NATs) per day by arranging overtime work in case of emergency situations.
Secondly, Lo said, the government has further increased the number of “high-standard” isolation beds from 232 to 266. The government runs isolation beds in the public Conde de São Januário Hospital Centre and the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane.
Thirdly, the government has purchased sufficient medicine for Covid-19 treatment, and has strengthened training of its medical workers for Covid-19 prevention and control tasks, Lo said.
Lo also said that in response to a “possibly bad” Covid-19 situation in Macao, the government has a contingency plan to set up a makeshift hospital where 500 beds will be available.
Lo said that if the government would need to set up a Covid-19 makeshift hospital, it would certainly choose a location far away from residential neighbourhoods.
“As the possible setting-up of a makeshift hospital is not expected to get off the ground in a short time, there is no condition [for the government] to disclose any details (for the time being). But there is one point that is certainly true, the makeshift hospital will be set up in a location far away from residential neighbourhoods,” Lo said.
Macao has not recorded a new Covid-19 case for 115 days, while no local case has been confirmed in 204 days.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
