The government has decided not to cancel sampling via oropharyngeal swabs in its nucleic acid testing (NAT) scheme, after considering residents’ preferences in having their samples collected for a COVID-19 test by this method.
Alvis Lo Iek Long
The Health Bureau started to carry out one-off nucleic acid tests (NATs) for casino frontline workers – including dealers, cage workers and security guards – last Thursday.
The Macao government said on Tuesday it believes that today’s lifting of Guangdong’s 14-day quarantine requirement for all arrivals from Macao will not cause the Covid-19 epidemic in the two regions to rebound.
Macao has neither confirmed a new COVID-19 case for 12 consecutive days nor a new local COVID-19 case for 101 consecutive days.
Filipina who flew from Macao to Manila on 18 June tested positive for the novel coronavirus disease in the Philippines, adding the bureau believed that the woman was infected with Covid-19 in her home country rather than in Macao.
Dr Alvis Lo Iek Long admitted that border entry curbs among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao can only be completely lifted after a Covid-19 vaccine or specific medicine to treat the disease has been successfully developed.
Zhong Nanshan, China’s renowned respiratory disease expert, came to Macao on Monday and shared the mainland’s COVID-19 prevention and control experience and COVID-19 treatment with Macao’s medical professionals during a seminar in Government Headquarters.
While the local government believes that the current fee of MOP 180 for its nucleic acid testing (NAT) scheme is “reasonable”, it aimed to further lower the fee, which was “Macao residents’ wish”.
Hong Kong and Macao haven’t changed their aim of restoring travel among the three regions, but the Macao government can only announce gradual relaxation of current border entry curbs when “practicable” measures without increasing COVID-19 risk.