Australian tourist among latest Macau Covid-19 cases

Macau has seen four more positive cases within a single morning, bringing its total number of Covid-19 cases to 30, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center has confirmed. The Center also pointed out that all of these cases have been imported.

The 30th case involves a 52-year-old Australian citizen. He travelled with his wife to San Francisco, between February 27 and March 4. They then travelled to Europe and remained in the U.K.’s capital, London, between March 4 and 15.

Afterwards, they took Virgin Atlantic flight 206 from Heathrow Airport, London, to Hong Kong, arriving on March 16. The man was seated in seat 66A during the flight. The couple travelled to Macau over the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HKZMB) by the Bridge’s shuttle bus service immediately after their flight.

They stayed in Macau for the next four days until March 20 when they were forced to return to Macau as they could not enter Hong Kong for their flight back home.

During the four days in Macau, they stayed in accommodation at the Pousada de Coloane at Cheoc Van. They claimed that during that time they mostly kept within the hotel grounds or nearby.

On 19 March, they took a number 26A public bus to Cotai, particularly the Venetian resort. After being denied entry into the casino, as they had not brought along their passports, they returned to Coloane, as reported by the patient.

That evening, they had dinner at La Gondola, a restaurant in Cheoc Van.

The next day, after they were forced to return to Macau due to immigration restrictions in Hong Kong, they were sent to Grand Coloane Resort for monitored quarantine upon arrival in Macau.

On March 24, they each took an initial test for Covid-19 infection. The man was yesterday confirmed as positive for Covid-19, having displayed mild symptoms in the government hospital.

As his wife is classified as a close contact, she is now in the Public Health Clinical Center in Coloane for a 14-day period of medical observation.

Despite the couple’s movements during their time in Macau, the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes the risks that they have posed to the local community are not serious and residents should not be excessively anxious.

A 15-year-old female local returnee, who studied in the U.K., is the city’s 29th case. She returned to Macau from London via the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong, where she spent a week before returning to Macau on March 24.

She was seated in seat 10K on her British Airways flight BA33 on March 16 and seat 5G on Malaysia Airlines flight MH78 on the next day. She was taken directly to be tested upon arrival in Macau.

The 28th case involves an 18-year-old male Macau resident who had been studying in the United Kingdom. On 22 March, he arrived at Macau International Airport. His infection was confirmed during his 14-day mandatory quarantine.

He took three flights on his way back home. On March 20, he boarded Emirates flight EK4 from London Heathrow to Dubai, in seat 61J. The next day, he took Emirates flight EK372 from Dubai to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in seat 25B, and then Air Macau flight NX881 to Macau in seat 14B. His journey was identical to that of the 26th case.

The city’s 27th case is a 28-year-old male Macau resident who returned from the U.K. On 22 March, he took a Government-chartered coach to Macau from Hong Kong International Airport via the HKZMB.

He took one single flight back home, which was British Airways flight BA27 on March 20. He was seated in 71D.