An open letter to the honourable Dr. Lo Iek Long, Director of the Health Bureau of the Macao SAR Government
Dear Dr. Lo Iek Long,
When the virus first started spreading in China, many people were alarmed. We were scared, skeptical, appalled. We are now roughly two and a half years down into the pandemic, with different protection mechanisms still in place (e.g., no visitors can enter Macao; no resident can return without being mandatorily quarantined in a designated hotel; wearing a mask remains compulsory).
We also know that nearly 90% of the city’s population has been vaccinated against the virus. Local and international authorities have acknowledged that the disease is not what it used to be. The virus is weaker, we have higher immunity, and we know more about it.
Similar to many people here, I haven’t left Macau since January 2020. I have not been to mainland China during this whole period, nor have I travelled to Hong Kong. I have worked online when the government requested I do so. I got vaccinated when a lot of people were still questioning the efficiency of the vaccines against COVID-19. I went through a pregnancy with minimal care in the beginning of the pandemic. I kept wearing a mask on a daily basis. I have avoided crowds. I have followed the instructions. I am a good citizen.
As a professional and a mother, I can say that the last few days have been particularly challenging with the need to reconcile work with intense parenting. It has also been a source of consternation to subject my children to repeated nose or mouth swabs for COVID-19 testing.
We all know kids would be better off living a normal life, not being trapped in their home or away from their school and basic sociality. But we also understand that times like this call for caution. In any case, I wonder if they should still be required to perform these swabs so often; actually, it seems to me that many young children – babies, toddlers, and pre-school kids at least – could likely be spared at this stage.
With all due respect to you and other Macao SAR Government health and executive authorities, who have so relentlessly worked to keep the city safe, we all know that children alone do not wander around places, go out to eat at a restaurant or run errands in town by themselves.
Lately, they also haven’t gone to school, because the institutions have been shut down. Therefore, children’s chances of catching COVID-19 if their caretakers are not infected are currently extremely low.
Would it be possible that the government mandate children be tested for the coronavirus only if an adult in their household has tested positive?
My kids have tested negative four times in a week, and they still have to be tested again today. They are not going places, they are not seeing family or school friends, and they are not spending time in public spaces.
As a matter of fact, the only place they have been to that may have offered some risk of contamination is the Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) stations crowded with people throughout the day.
I think it is safe to state that other parents also feel apprehensive about this whole situation.
Young children have suffered a good amount, and are uncapable of understanding the reason why they have to go through COVID-19 testing again and again.
After being swabbed and vainly crying in pain, they are taken back home by their parents or other family members in the belief that they are free from that agony. I would like to believe so too.
Therefore, I ask Dr. Lo: Wouldn’t it be within the authorities’ capacity to free young children, at least, from having to repeatedly go through COVID-19 testing?
Sincerely,
Sheyla S. Zandonai, Ph.D.
Mother
