Events canceled over the weekend due to Covid-19 scare

A series of cultural, leisure, and major sporting events planned to take place over the weekend suffered last-minute cancelations. Organizers justified the hasty decision with the need to “comply with [Covid-19] epidemic prevention and control policies by the Macau SAR Government.”

The Macao Orchestra and Macao Chinese Orchestra concerts, the 2022 Sands China Macao International 10K run, and the activities of the Macao Green Week were just some of the most highlighted activities that underwent last-minute cancelations, in some cases, just hours before the event was due to start.

Although none of the entities involved in the organization of the events clearly explained the reason behind the cancelation, a Covid-19 scare related to cases found across the border in the neighboring cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan seems to be the most plausible cause, according to people contacted by the Times.

According to information provided by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, there are at least five people in Macau who have been considered as close contacts of people infected with Covid-19 in the village of Nanping in Zhuhai. One of them is a nursing assistant staff member at the Kiang Wu Hospital.

Although all the close contacts’ preliminary tests returned negative, the government decided to cancel all public activities in Macau over the weekend due to a potential Covid-19 outbreak, even though the same authorities had previously announced that the risk of infection was low or very low.

The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) also announced on Saturday the suspension of classes for cross-border teachers and students living in the designated areas of Zhuhai and Zhongshan that are currently in lockdown.

The measure applies to teachers, students, and school staff from all education levels who have been in the mentioned areas within the past 14 days.

A date for the resumption of their in-person classes was said to be announced in due course, in line with the epidemic situation.

The DSEDJ also urged cross-border teachers and students to strictly follow the “Point-to-Point” principle in the commute between home and school, calling on them to “avoid going out on weekends and during the holidays as much as possible.”

The cancelation of the 2022 Sands China Macao International 10K run alone involves the refund of registration fees and other procedures to a total of 10,000 participants who had registered for the event from February 12. Participants were also called to do nucleic acid tests, at their expense, to be eligible to participate in the event.

Details on the refund of registration fees were said to be announced soon.

Ticket reimbursement was also announced by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) for the concerts of the two local orchestras with details to be announced at a later stage.

Two more asymptomatic cases found

The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center has reported, on Saturday, the finding of two more Covid-19 asymptomatic cases in two people who arrived in Macau from Hong Kong. 

The first case relates to a local female resident who arrived in Macau via Hong Kong from Ireland, and the second one is a male resident of Hong Kong.

In both cases, the infected people had been fully vaccinated with mRNA vaccines in November and December last year.

Both individuals have been directed to the Public Health Clinical Center in Coloane for treatment in isolation.