Covid-19 | Public efforts may complete mass test earlier than expected: Alvis Lo

Despite the city currently facing “extremely huge challenges” from the Delta variant, locals’ swift registration rate of city-wide mass Covid-19 testing may help wrap up the large-scale scheme earlier than expected, director of the Health Bureau (SSM) Alvis Lo confirmed at yesterday’s media briefing.
As of 4 p.m. yesterday, a total of 376,000 people were sampled for the nucleic acid test (NAT) in Macau, 115,000 of whom tested negative for Covid-19, whilst the result for the remaining samples will be released soon.
The large number of people undergoing tests helped drive the operation’s target completion rate to 55% within 31 hours after its launch. In other words, only 45% remain to complete the test in the coming 41 hours.
Lo regarded the progress as very satisfactory, projecting that the city-wide test may even be concluded in less than the scheduled 72 hours. The government also did not rule out the possibility of conducting a second citywide nucleic acid testing.

42 Test Stations; Vaccination Suspended
The government yesterday designated Mong-Ha Sports Centre as another mass testing station, bringing the total number of test centers across Macau from 41 to 42. The move, however, will see the city’s vaccination service come to a full halt from August 5 to 6.
Before service began at the venue, people were already lining up at the entrance in the hope of carrying out the NAT as soon as possible.
Lo said the new addition is intended to provide greater convenience for residents so that they have one more options to choose from.
When asked by the media about the impact of the full suspension of inoculation service, the SSM director emphasized that the current anti-pandemic priority must be given to the mass test, which is designed to “identify and thus break the invisible transmission chain as early as possible.”
Since yesterday, the government has offered real-time hourly updates on booking volumes at each of the 42 testing stations to facilitate progress.

Help from mainland
A total of 300 medical staff from the Guangdong province, deployed by the mainland governments to help accelerate Macau’s massive test, arrived at the city yesterday. They will soon engage in sampling efforts at each station.
The city’s police force also deployed around 1,500 personnel to maintain order at testing centers.
All centers have special lanes in place, established for the exclusive use of people with special needs, so that they might enjoy a fast-tracked NAT service. Prioritized groups include infants aged under 2, elderly aged 80 or above and people with disabilities, among others.

Delay on Result Display
Due to a great backlog in sample numbers, it will take around two days for each result to be uploaded on the health code system, Lo said.
The city used to see a daily average number of 10,000 to 15,000 NATs conducted on weekdays, or up to 20,000 to 30,000 on weekends. These tallies are in dramatic contrast to the daily number of 200,000 to 300,000 since the mass test commenced, he added.
Lo also confirmed no particular penalty would be imposed on those who fail to conduct tests before due time. This is because there is no legal framework to penalize such individuals and the government has no wish to penalize them.
He calls on the public to conduct the tests within the scheduled period, but said that those failing to do so would see their health codes changed from green to yellow, which will be a hindrance to them in their daily activities, and thus encourage them to get tested.

Red-code Zone
A total of 244 people live in the red-code zone: an area that has been isolated to contain the transmission of the virus, according to Leong Iek Hou, coordinator at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
These residents are required to conduct several NATs, with the first round completed on August 3. The second round was timed to conduct yesterday night.
Meanwhile, the government traced a further 702 people deemed to be “Close Contacts” and “Secondary Close Contacts” to the confirmed cases. These individuals are currently under medical observation for seven to 14 days and must conduct at least three NATs. Additional serology tests will be arranged for Close Contacts as well, Leong added.
The government contacted the staff at Ah Ga Restaurant, an eatery where the family dined during the past week. Authorities are also scouting out the diners who crossed paths at the restaurant with the family.

Family Status-quo
According to Tai Wa Hou, coordinator of the Health Bureau’s Covid-19 Vaccination Operation, the current conditions of the 12-year-old girl and her brother are “very stable”: in both cases the only symptom presenting is a lowered sense of smell.
The parents are suffering from pneumonia, while the father also has a low fever.
Meanwhile, two Covid-19 patients were discharged from isolation wards yesterday. These are a 28-year-old female, the city’s 57th case, and her eight-year-old boy, the 58th case. Both received two negative test-results and were permitted to be discharged from the hospital. They are now quarantined for the duration of their rehabilitation period at a clinic at Coloane and will return to society on September 1, if not before.