Briefs | Bidding opened for infectious diseases building superstructure work

Superstructure works on the city’s planned infectious diseases building is estimated to start in the first quarter of next year. Yesterday, the Infrastructure Development Office opened bidding for the construction project. The office received 17 bids in total. The maximum construction period is 730 working days. The superstructure works should take no more than 450 working days. Once completed, the building will be eight-stories high with a total height of 35 meters. The construction area will be 31,000 square meters, providing 80 standard single-person isolation rooms, in addition to surgery rooms and laboratories. The local government has already required constructors to take measures to ensure that the construction creates minimum sound pollution for neighboring areas and does not constitute an impediment to traffic in the area.

Lawmaker Sulu Sou urges complete ban on single-use plastic

Lawmaker Sulu Sou has urged the local government to completely ban single-use plastic products in Macau. In an interpellation to the local government, Sou pointed out that Macau’s legislation on restricting single-plastic products is “severely lagging behind.” Recently, the Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) pledged that Macau will ban the import of styrofoam takeout boxes. Sou urged the department to reveal more details on the promise. In addition, the local government is due to respond to Sou regarding the effectiveness of the city’s single-use shopping bag ban. According to the DSPA’s environment report of Macau in 2019, the city was rated “not good” in regard to the amount of urban waste in 2019, generating 550,249 metric tons in the year, 23.5% of which was plastic waste.

Group wants to survey mental health of all residents

The General Union of Neighbourhood Associations of Macau believes that it is necessary for the Macau SAR government to take stock of the mental health of every Macau citizen. Cheang I Ha, deputy director of the association’s social affairs division, made the proposal with particular reference to Covid-19. According to Cheang, while residents are advised to avoid traveling outside of Macau, and in light of the growing unemployment rate, it is easy for Macau residents to suffer from anxiety and depression. Frontline workers of the Covid-19 response team are also experiencing mental pressure. Cheang urged the local government to learn from Macau’s neighboring regions, and to conduct a survey of mental health to understand the pressures citizens face, and to make mid- and long-term plans to improve the physical and mental health of individuals in the community.