Leaders of local social and community associations and groups, as well as lawmakers, have expressed concerns over the possibility of an extension of the period of “relative confinement” slated to continue until end of July 17 at midnight.
Many of these leaders have joined their voices to those people who fear the continuation of the confinement rules for at least another week could be harmful for local companies and for most of the workers who will be deprived of their wages.
Former lawmaker and chairman of the Macau Community Development Initiative, Au Kam San, told Lusa News Agency that the government might be preparing to extend the confinement measure independently of the success that could be attributed to the current week-long confinement measure.
“Whether it works or not, [the confinement] could last longer than just seven days,” Au said, explaining, “If the number of positive cases does not decrease during the seven days, then the government will try to extend [the measure] for another seven days. But, if the number of positive cases is effectively reduced, and once it is deemed to be an effective measure, the government can also use that [as a justification] for it to continue.”
Addressing the potential consequences of an extension of the period, Au said that since the government has allowed companies and employers to put their workers on “unpaid leave” during this period, this will result in “significant financial losses” that harm workers and their way of life.
“This is a matter of survival. What measures has the government undertaken to protect the survival of these people? What is the government’s plan?” he asked.
On the same topic, lawmaker and vice president of the Macao Federation of Trade Unions, Ella Lei, stressed that, independent of the government’s next step, a timely response should be given to society.
“No one knows what will happen after these seven days. No one can calculate with 100% accuracy what will happen next. Companies are facing losses and operational pressures during this partial confinement. Workers are even more directly affected by the fact that they are forced by law to take unpaid leave,” she said, adding, “This is why we want the government to distribute aid to fight the epidemic.” She called on the authorities to optimize the economic support measures as a matter of urgency.
“The longer it takes, the more inconvenience and more difficulties it will cause the population while their work is interrupted,” Lei remarked.
Secretary-general of Caritas Macau, Paul Pun, pointed out that in these crisis times people should value solidarity more highly. He added that while employees are deprived of their wages, employers are also facing the same problem and so mutual understanding should prevail.
“People need to show solidarity with each other, and those who can afford to support others I believe will do so,” Pun said, while also expressing doubts that this week would be the last of the confinement period.
Former lawmaker and pro-democracy activist, Sulu Sou, said the government should immediately drop the relative confinement measure as it “restricts the freedom of movement and has suddenly come to criminalize many people’s daily life activities. In just a few days, it has caused harm to the life and the mental health of many citizens, it is not suitable to continue,” he told the Times.
“Also, the suspension of the activities of the industrial and commercial sectors will cost many employees their income and even their jobs, with a very negative impact on the local economic recovery,” Sou remarked. He added, “Over the past nearly three years, different governments around the world have gradually changed their anti-epidemic strategies due to changes in the virus. The Macau government should devote its very limited public resources to care for the most pressing aspects of the outbreak such as protecting the lives of the patients with severe symptoms to prevent other fatalities.”
Health authorities hint at potential measure swap
During yesterday’s press briefing on the Covid-19 outbreak in Macau, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr Leong Iek Hou, hinted at a potential alternative being considered to the current partial confinement measure.
To several media inquiries on the topic, Leong continued to repeat previous comments noting that the next steps would be only decided after evaluating the results from the ten rounds of mass testing that finish Sunday evening (July 17).
Nonetheless, Leong added, “Every measure has its advantages and disadvantages and when we take a measure, we need first to do a global analysis [of the situation]. [We need to determine] if [the measure] will create a burden for people and if it will hinder economic activity,” she said, adding, “When we decide to lift a measure, we may need to decide [to enforce] another measure. For instance, if there is no need to continue to implement a measure of confinement, we may need to impose a different measure [to protect] those returning to work.”
Leong further added that the authorities need to ensure that if people return to work, they cannot gather, that wearing of facemasks be mandated, and that employees cannot take their meals together. She explained that in many workplaces there are no facilities to allow people to eat their meals separately from others.
“So, when we can remove this measure of relative confinement, we must have other measures that can replace it to reduce the risk of contagion,” she remarked, adding that at present authorities are still studying what is the best way to [meet the needs] of local citizens and, at the same time, not cause risk to the community.”
Leong also hinted that among the measures being planned to replace confinement is the continuation of citywide nucleic acid tests. Daily tests may be a requirement for those authorized to return to work.
