6.18 outbreak costs Gov’t MOP600m, not counting quarantines
The most severe outbreak of Covid-19 in Macau over the past two and half years, which started on June 18 (known as the 6.18 outbreak), has cost the government some 600 million patacas, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday in response to a media inquiry.
Leong explained that this figure only includes the expenditure for the citywide nucleic acid tests (NATs) as well as the supply of 55 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits and 60 KN95 facemasks per person.
“In total, the calculation is that we have spent about 600 million patacas,” Leong said enumerating the costs.
Later, Leong noted that the costs related to the quarantine of persons either infected or isolating as close or secondary contacts are not yet included, indicating that the final bill could be significantly higher.
Leong ruled out any possibility of quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and Macau for the time being, as she noted that the neighboring SAR is once again being severely affected, having recorded over 10,000 new cases in the past days.
Noting again that a decision to establish a “travel bubble” between Macau and HK would necessitate the closing of the border links with the mainland, Leong reaffirmed that is not yet possible to resume normal border conditions between Macau and HK. Leong added that the “quarantine imposed upon those arriving currently from HK is already greatly reduced [the numbers] when compared with figures from the recent past.”
prevention scheme for school competitions
At yesterday’s Covid-19 press briefing, the representative of the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), Luis Gomes, announced that this year’s interschool competitions will proceed with a new Covid-19 prevention scheme, combining vaccination, nucleic acid tests (NATs) and rapid antigen tests (RATs).
Gomes explained that before any competitions begin, all participants will have to have taken a NAT within 48 hours of the event. After that, those that have completed the primary vaccination scheme (2 doses of a vaccine) will have to take a RAT before participating in the events, while those who have not completed the vaccination scheme must take a NAT.
In the first case, the first NAT and the RAT will be provided by the DSEDJ, while in the case of the following NAT for those unvaccinated, the costs must be borne by the students and their parents.
The intention is clear: the DSEDJ aims for more students to get vaccinated, the authorities considering that this is still the best protection against the severe effects of the virus.
