Local health authorities are not taking into account the inclusion of Macau on European Union’s (EU) list of countries and regions, which are safe for travel and border restrictions are being eased.
The list, commonly referred to as travel “white list,” will not be taken as a reference for any changes to the border restrictions imposed by Macau, the medical director from the Conde de São Januário Hospital Center and coordinator of the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Covid-19 Vaccination Operation, Dr. Tai Wa Hou said on Friday.
Speaking at the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center press briefing, Tai emphasized that the current entry policy into Macau, except for the low-risk regions of mainland China, has not been changed. He reaffirmed that all countries, including those in the EU, are still considered high-risk areas, from which the entry of foreigners is still not allowed.
Tai also remarked that, at this point, “there are no conditions to negotiate with other countries regarding the partial exemption from entry restrictions measures,” namely after the vaccination against Covid-19, noting that such possibility is not even being considered.
On a different topic, the same official announced that the new batch of mRNA jabs with 10,000 doses arrived on Friday morning, and that another batch of the same BioNTech vaccines is expected to arrive next week.
Tai said that he is not as yet certain of the number of vaccine doses in the next batch and the exact day that it will arrive, as the health authorities are currently negotiating the final details with the supplier.
These new vaccine doses, as well as the ones still in stock, will also be part of the new large-size community vaccination post which will, from today, start operations at the new Mong-Há Sports Center together with the support of Kiang Wu Hospital.
Vaccination bookings at this new facility started from Saturday.
According to the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, on the first day of reducing the minimum age for the mRNA vaccine to residents aged 12 and up, there were 617 people aged 18 or below who received the jab.
Replying to media questions on the possibility of lowering the minimum age for inoculation with the Sinopharm jab, Tai said that, after clinical testing, the vaccine has proven to be safe and effective on people aged between 3 and 17 years old. Nevertheless, according to the national health authorities’ recommendation, vaccination of people in this age group should be done only in emergency cases.
Another Bell’s Palsy
case after vaccination
A 46-year-old male is the most recent case diagnosed with Bell’s palsy following his inoculation of the Covid-19 vaccine, becoming the third case of its kind in Macau.
According to information from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, the case was reported last Saturday, exactly a week after he received the first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine at a public healthcare center.
The case has been reported to the special workgroup in charge of analyzing adverse events following immunization (AEFI).
As in the previous cases, the condition affects one of the sides of the face, causing asymmetry, difficulty in closing the eyelid and lip as well as numbness on the affected side of the face.
According to the health authorities, the causes of the conditions are not yet completely known, noting that patients usually start to recover from the symptoms after two weeks, and gradually up to six to seven months after the event.
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