Unless at least 80% of the population in Macau are fully vaccinated, or the city will not achieve herd immunity, Tai Wa Hou, coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Covid-19 Vaccination confirmed yesterday in a media briefing.
The expert explained that the efficiency rate of the vaccine, rather than the antibody level in individuals, should be taken as a more accurate “yardstick” to gauge a person’s immunity against coronavirus.
According to the official data, the two available types of vaccine in Macau, the inactivated and mRNA vaccine, were proven to have over 80% and 90% respectively in prevention efficacy.
Generally speaking, herd immunity will be reached if 70% of the population are inoculated. However, this proportion is not enough in Macau when taking into account the efficacy rates for the city’s two vaccines type, he explained.
As such, it is safer for Macau to aim for 80% of residents to be fully vaccinated, Tai added.
However, the current benchmark for herd immunity may differ from 80% immunization in the future if new and more contagious variants, such as Delta variant, appear in some regions.
More time needed for Hong Kong travel bubble
Regarding the much-anticipated reopening with Hong Kong, the authorities yesterday confirmed that they need “more time” to observe Hong Kong’s infection numbers.
This decision came after the neighboring city reported a new confirmed case which is currently classified as a case with unknown source, Tai said.
This means that it will take more time for the Hong Kong-Macau travel bubble to reach its commencement date.
On July 1, Tai unveiled a new requirement for Hong Kong to see no cases with unknown sources for 14 days, shortened from the previous requirement of 28 days, as an eased precondition to open the Hong Kong-Macau travel bubble.
However, the Hong Kong government announced a new local case the next day, a 41-year-old woman working as a part-
time cleaner at a designated quarantine hotel in Yau Ma Tei.
In yesterday’s Covid-19 briefing, several journalists expressed concerns about the actual starting date of the Hong Kong-
Macau travel bubble. In response to this, Tai said the authorities will keep monitoring whether this case has transmission risk in Hong Kong’s community.
He also stressed that the Macau SAR government must discuss and collaborate closely with the mainland authorities on the entry regulations for Hong Kong travelers to enter Macau.
Should a concrete timeframe or date for the border reopening between the two cities be determined, the government will announce in due course, he added.
No plan yet to reinstate the Phuket flight
Since July 1, Phuket is allowing fully vaccinated tourists from particular countries and regions, including Macau, to enter the island without the need to observe quarantine, for the first time since March 2020.
However, the representative of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) affirmed yesterday to the media’s query that the government has not received any announcements from airlines regarding the reinstatement of the Macau-Phuket flight at this time.
In response to the rumor circulating online that a casino operator is indirectly forcing its employees to receive vaccinations by linking this with the staff bonus, Tai confirmed that every person has the right to choose whether or not to be inoculated.
The government will not object to any appropriate approaches encouraging more employees to get vaccinated, but the casino operators cannot impose it as a mandatory measure.
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