Number of people testing positive expected to remain high for now; low possibility of retesting positive within 3-6 months.
Macao Covid-19 outbreak
Health workers struggle to carry out their jobs in face of pandemic; up to 40% of staff at Kiang Wu Hospital and about a quarter of all public health service employees affected.
Ho Iat Seng points to relaxed Covid-19 measures, new gaming concessions and Macao’s focus on Big Health, modern finance, high tech and other new areas of city’s economy.
Citywide mass-testing unlikely in future; Red Code Zones to be enforced if two or more households test positive for Covid-19; big events can go ahead if precautions followed.
Cases range from 11-year-old girl to 77-year-old woman; hundreds of residents locked down in seven Red Code Zones.
Sixty NAT testing stations operating flat-out to test everyone in city by 11 am tomorrow. Caseload now at 11. Health chief says ‘don’t worry too much’.
Chamber also urges Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U to consider relaxing certain pandemic measures during run-up to 2023 Policy Address.
Ho Iat Seng says city will be first port of call for groups from Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Shanghai and Zhejiang; other regions to follow later.
University of Macau researchers predict GDP could drop by almost one-third, conclude economic recovery still ‘a long way off’.
