Eighteen SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) stations will not be open during the early morning hours in the upcoming round of citywide testing, an official announced yesterday.
Luís Gomes from the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), which has taken charge of several rounds of citywide testing, made the announcement at yesterday’s regular health press conference.
The official announced that seven “caring” stations (for people with special needs) and 11 regular stations will close at 1 a.m. tomorrow, which is the second day of the two-day NAT drive, before reopening several hours later, at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.
According to previous announcements, each round of testing this week was set to last for 33 hours. In the first two rounds this week, all stations opened at 9 a.m. on the first day and closed at 6 p.m. the next day.
Following yesterday’s announcement, all caring stations will open at 6 a.m. today and close at 1 a.m. tomorrow. They will then reopen at 6 a.m. and operate until 6 p.m. tomorrow.
Additionally, 11 regular stations will open at 9 a.m. today and close at 1 a.m. tomorrow. They will then reopen at 7 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The 11 stations are located at: Ilha Verde Activity Centre, Patane Activity Centre, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao Cultural Centre, Carmel Auditorium, University of Macao, the Jiangmen Communal Society Activity Centre, Son Wo Medical Center, Navy Yard 1 & 2, Sheng Kung Hui Taipa Service Centre and Hou Kong Primary School.
Gomes emphasized that the service hours of other regular stations will remain unchanged: from 9 a.m. today to 6 p.m. tomorrow.
The official did not explain why these adjustments to operating hours of certain stations have been made.
Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, Grand Hyatt listed as quarantine
Two more quarantine hotels will commence operations today, namely the east wing of the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort, with 470 rooms, and Tower B1 of the Grand Hyatt Macau, with 300 rooms.
Claims that the city would soon enter lockdown went viral on social media yesterday. At the press conference, Cheong Kin Ian, the representative from the Unitary Police Service (SPU), clarified that “for the time being, there is no plan to implement [these] measures.”
In addition to urging members of the public to not heed such claims, he also reminded people that the city has sufficient stock of essential supplies. People should not panic-buy because that will lead to crowds at retailers.
He also denied suggestions that a grid-style lockdown will be imposed when the infection figures reach a predetermined level, adding that, once a decision is made, it will be announced to the public.
His comments, however, did not satisfy members of the public. Social media users criticized the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center for swinging between different measures and policies.
For example, at a press conference, a health official challenged the need to cordon off the Four Seasons shopping mall, but the first floor was shut down by the government just five hours after the press conference.
Social media users commented that abrupt announcements like these are disturbing because it does not provide the public any time to prepare.
31 test tubes with positive results from mass NAT, cases reach 1,215
As of 3 p.m. yesterday, the citywide SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid testing (NAT) has yielded 31 test tubes with positive results. At the time, 626,680 samples had been collected, 485,355 of which yielded negative results.
On Wednesday, the city detected 128 new infections. Of these, 41 were detected in quarantine and 81 in the community. The total number of cases have hit 1,215, according to figures released yesterday. The community cases comprised 36 close contacts, 38 from citywide testing or key group NATs and 13 from other groups, such as patients seeking medical treatment who were identified incidentally.
