City resumes normalcy as double-round of mass testing finds no cases

Macau has now returned to the previous pandemic prevention state after two consecutive rounds of citywide mass testing failed to detect a single positive result, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center has announced.

In the second round of nucleic acid tests (NATs), which took place last Friday and Saturday, over 660,000 samples were collected. The purely negative results indicate that there are no cases of Covid-19 in Macau.

Evaluating the work related to the response to this potential outbreak, the center considered the prevention work very effective. It noted that two of the 10 cases involved were imported cases related to people who frequently travel between Zhuhai and Macau. The remaining eight cases were detected in isolation and were among close contacts, “which effectively prevented the disease from spreading within the community.”

“After a comprehensive analysis, the center announces that Macau is resuming [a normal level] of pandemic prevention,” health authorities said while calling on people to continue to pay close attention to the pandemic situation as the “pandemic situation around the globe remains severe,” the center noted in a statement.

Home address on Health Code to move to “manual mode”

In an effort to prevent false yellow or red health codes being given due to old or incorrect addresses being registered in the Macau Health Code system, health authorities have announced that from November 9 (Wednesday) it will no longer collect address information automatically from the Identification Services Bureau. People using this option should, before this day, input their updated home addresses manually in the health code system.

The bureau explained that the measure was necessary to comply with the government’s “zone-specific, multi-level targeted approach to pandemic prevention and control.”

For those with difficulties in using and updating the system, the Social Welfare Bureau will assist them at its social service centers, the center noted.