Doctors reassure pregnant residents of hospital cleanliness

DOCTOr Lei Wai Seng, medical director at the Conde S. Januário Hospital, has assured pregnant residents that sufficient measures are in place at medical facilities to ensure their safety. Messages of anxiety from pregnant residents have been received by lawmaker Agnes Lam. They are worried that they may become infected when they receive medical check-ups at hospitals.
Work is being conducted to ensure the cleanliness of public areas at hospitals, according to Lei. Patients with chronic illnesses, such as cancer, are to be separated from other people while waiting at the hospital.
On their way to the hospital, the medical director recommends patients and pregnant residents use private transport or taxi, instead of taking buses, to lower the possibility of cross infection.
Additionally, Lei said obstetric services are also provided at the SSM’s various Health Centers. Pregnant residents can approach these centers for medical assistance. He also believes that employers will allow pregnant employees to work from home or be exempted from work during this special period.
For the first time, Lei disclosed the therapy administered to patients in Macau. Thailand has successfully cured some patients using a “cocktail therapy”, widely used in HIV treatment, which relies on a blend of various medications.
The SSM is also using a similar strategy, but it has dropped Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat and prevent influenza A and influenza B, as it has been found to be ineffective for the cases in Macau.
The SSM also announced yesterday that it will deploy vehicles to make announcements reminding people to stay home and avoid large crowds. Local news telecasts have shown that older residents are not aware of many pieces of government advice, because they do not watch TV.
Meanwhile, many local drivers are concerned about the issue of legal parking spaces during the special work-exemption period. There are several types of parking meters across the city, programmed with different time intervals. It was raised at the press conference by a journalist that there might be a contradiction between the government’s advice to stay home and going out to pay the parking fee.
Yesterday, the transport authority decided to waive parking fees for taxis that park at the public parking lot at the Macau border checkpoint for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
No representative from the transport authority was present at the press conference yesterday, but the Public Security Police Force (PSP) expressed its views from the perspective of a law-enforcement entity.
The PSP representative explained that, during the epidemic control period, the team’s first and foremost mission will be to ensure public safety and order, as usual. On top of that, it is also important for the police to assist in emergency services, including the work of the Fire Service’s team of paramedics.
The representative did not expressly say whether the police will ease control on illegal parking, but hinted that the PSP will impose “appropriate measures” while handling such matters.
He also reminded residents to follow the government’s advice on epidemic control in general, and in particular on the matter of avoiding unnecessary time spent outside of their homes.