Briefs | Latest weather guidelines released for school activities

The Macau SAR government has publicized the details of the guidelines for school arrangements under extreme weather conditions. When a typhoon signal is hoisted and is changed from Signal No. 8 to Signal No.3 before 6:30 a.m., or when No.3 is in effect at 6:30 a.m., all education activities should be suspended for the day. When a rainstorm signal remains red or black at 11:30 a.m., or is issued between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., all school operations will be prohibited. School activities will not proceed if the weather department has already forecast that the temperature of the next day will be below 0 degrees Celsius or above 40 degrees Celsius. Instructions for other scenarios are also available in the same government dispatch.

Coloane’s Oscar Farm open for public visit

Coloane’s Oscar Farm is now open for the public to visit. Officially opened during the Macau Green Week 2005, the Oscar Farm is located on Estrada de Cheoc Van across an area of 7,000 square meters. The farm provides a variety of entertaining facilities such as holiday camp houses, camp sites, a big tent for events, a café on the green, a chess corner, a barbeque zone, an interactive stage, and an organic farming plot. The farm offers trips including a “first touch trip”, “leisure trip” and “discovery trip” for visitors with different purposes. On the first Sunday of each month, the farm will have professionals demonstrating how to make compost. The farm is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Value of imports down after jewelry, watches sharp decline

The value of total merchandise imports fell by 21.6% in June 2020 to 5.1 billion patacas, according to data released by the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), led by sharp declines in the merchandise imports of gold jewelry (-86.6%) and watches (-71.9%). However, in the same period, merchandise imports of beauty, cosmetic and skincare products rose by 33.9%, according to DSEC. In the first half year of 2020, the value of merchandise import declined by 29.2% year-on-year to 29.6 billion patacas. The merchandise trade deficit narrowed to 24.5 billion patacas for the first half of the year, down by 11 billion patacas from a year earlier. By place of origin, mainland China continued to be the biggest import market, accounting for 10.8 billion patacas in the first half of 2020. The second biggest market for imports was the European Union, accounting for 7.7 billion patacas.