Addressing Wednesday’s press conference about Macao’s novel coronavirus (Covid-19) situation, the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Control of Communicable Diseases and Surveillance of Diseases Department Coordinator Leong Iek Hou said that a 62-year-old Hong Kong man who had worked in Macao since March and returned to Hong Kong on 11 July has tested positive for Covid-19 there.
Leong said that both the local and Hong Kong health authorities have determined that the Hong Kong man has been infected with the novel coronavirus in Hong Kong rather than in Macao, adding that therefore the Macao Health Bureau has decided not to investigate his travel history during his stay in Macao.
According to Leong, the Hong Kong man, who worked as a renovation worker in Macao, underwent a nucleic acid test (NAT) in Macao on 10 July and tested negative for Covid-19. He returned to Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) the next day. Upon arrival in Hong Kong, he started to undergo mandatory quarantine in his home where he lives with his wife and two sons.
The man’s older son had been in touch with several confirmed Covid-19 patients in Hong Kong before being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease there on Monday, Leong said, adding that therefore the Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) arranged for the man and his wife, who both had come down with Covid-19 symptoms, to be tested for COVID-19, before both were diagnosed with the disease on Tuesday.
According to Leong, both the local and Hong Kong health authorities have determined that the man has been infected with Covid-19 by his family members during his home quarantine period.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
