Several governmental departments held a drill last Saturday simulating a large-scale Covid-19 outbreak in the community.
According to the authorities, the drill delivered satisfactory results and helped the various departments improve their response times in case an emergency response was needed to deal with a potential outbreak.
Speaking to the media after the drill, the director of the Emergency Services at Hospital Conde de São Januário, Lei Wai Seng, described the results of the drill as satisfactory. The drill was designed to test the activation of the Community Center for Covid-19 Treatment in the Macau East Asia Games Dome as well as the transport of potentially infected persons, close contacts and patients to and from the Center, as well as to their final destination after triage.
For Lei, the overall performance in the drill was positive, although he noted that a thorough evaluation will be conducted later with the participation of all those who took part.
Questioned whether more drills of this kind would be held, Lei did not exclude the possibility, but he noted that these drills require thorough evaluation and assessment as they involve a large number of personnel, particularly from the emergency services.
According to the figures given, 289 volunteers and 25 vehicles participated in this operation.
In the speech before the start of the drill, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, explained the drill and its purpose, noting that it is in line with China’s overall strategy of “preventing imported cases and preventing domestic resurgence.”
Ao Ieong emphasized that, through the drill, the public will also be able to understand how the Community Center operates and be able to make suggestions regarding pandemic control measures.
The drill tested various requirements, such as the transportation of babies, children, the elderly, and people with reduced mobility to the Community Treatment Center.
A Macau Red Cross ambulance bus also took part in the simulation, being responsible for the transport of diagnosed bedridden elderly people and people with serious medical conditions to the Center.
According to the report, a large number of people simulating close contacts and people with suspicious symptoms were transported to the center for nucleic acid tests in the testing center before triage.
The drill also tested the operation of the makeshift hospital established on the same site, aiming to tackle any flaws in its functioning ahead of any potential Covid-19 outbreak.
Covid-19 vaccines for children ‘on the way’
The Covid-19 mRNA vaccine doses specifically calibrated for young children aged between 3 to 11 years old, which were ordered by the government, are expected to arrive from the middle of this month, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center has noted.
Questioned on the matter during the latest Covid-19 weekly press briefing, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said that the health authorities have been in communication with the suppliers and they have been informed that these vaccines should arrive near the middle of this month.
The final date is still unconfirmed, she said, claiming that adjustments need to be made due to flight allocations.
