Despite inevitable rebound, health chief discourages excessive worry

Health Bureau director Alvis Lo encouraged people in Macau to stay constantly vigilant against SARS-CoV-2 but not to worry excessively, while conceding that future rebound cases would be a certainty.

The city was notified by Zhuhai about a new positive case with a recent travel history in Macau.

At yesterday’s special Covid-19 press briefing, the health chief was asked by the Times whether the city would enter a “dead loop,” in which new cases and the consequential restrictive measures would return from time to time.

Such measures, judging from the previous months, may include de-facto lockdowns, suspensions of business operations and the banning of dog-walking.

Yesterday was set to be the last day of the city’s six-day stabilization period. As originally planned, the city will partially return to its lifestyle prior to the June 18 outbreak, with regular SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test (NAT) requirements for all residents or for dine-in customers lifted, among other measures relaxing.

Lo did not respond directly to the question, though he admitted that rebound cases would be a certainty.

“After today, [if no further outbreaks are identified,] new rebound cases may be identified in a month or two,” he said.

This was not the first time the health chief had made such comments. In a health press conference last week, he also admitted the likelihood of rebound cases.

He said that members of the public should stay constantly vigilant, “but not overly worried.”

“Provided that we follow our plans to conduct work during the regular Covid-19 prevention period, we will be capable of reacting to any risks,” Lo told yesterday’s press conference.

He further elaborated and expressed his confidence in the Macau-Zhuhai Covid-19 Mutual Prevention and Control Mechanism, with yesterday’s case as an example.

“Authorities in Zhuhai have wasted no time before notifying us about the positive case,” he said, adding that “the rationale behind it is to act and react as soon as possible to situations.”

Lo then emphasized that red-
zone cordoning and key area identification were undertaken promptly. “We were very responsive to the changing situation,” he said.

He encouraged the public to comply with government measures so that the government will be able to conclude risk assessments as early as possible. “Also, in any worse scenarios, we can put potential positive cases under confinement as early as possible,” he added.

Lo was also asked by another journalist whether de-facto lockdown would return, and what factors would trigger this.

For the time being, the health chief said, de-facto lockdown was not needed, as there was only a case detected in Zhuhai with history in Macau. Whether that state would be triggered will depend on the situation, he added.

He assured the public that the government would not overreact to any changing situations. He also took the opportunity to further implore residents to avoid unnecessary activities and gatherings.