Free Covid-19 vaccination on a voluntary basis for residents

Macau’s citizens will be able to enjoy a free vaccination for Covid-19 if they request one. However, the SAR government cannot announce a concrete timetable for this program yet due to non-disclosure agreements with vaccine manufacturers, medical director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital Dr. Alvis Lo said at yesterday’s media briefing.
The government has been negotiating with manufacturers from China and overseas, all of which have shown promising clinical results in their Covid-19 vaccines, Lo said, adding that authorities also came to an agreement on a non-disclosure term with several manufacturers.
“Thus, we cannot disclose the detailed figures of the vaccine and its timeframe at the moment,” he said in response to a media question.
Lo’s remarks came after Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong U, pledged in the plenary meeting last week at the Legislative Assembly (AL) to deliver the first batch of vaccines, prioritizing frontline staff, by the end of 2020.
In response to a question, Lo acknowledged that the vaccines will first be given to frontline workers who have been exposed to higher contagion risks compared to other people. This includes not only medical staff, but also the police force and firemen.
However, Lo did not confirm whether or not the first vaccinations will be delivered by the end of December, as had been previously claimed.
“Considering the city’s current situation of Covid-19, there is still no need for the government to sanction vaccination for emergency use at this stage,” he added.
The scale of distribution for the upcoming vaccines will largely hinge on the actual supply in the future. But it will prioritize those who are considered high-risk groups and those who are in need.
Most importantly, Lo stressed that all of the most potent vaccines are still in their third stage of clinical trials, meaning that their efficacy has not yet been evaluated and vetted by the world’s credible academic journals.
“It still takes some for the potency of these vaccines to be laid bare,” he added.
In the regular media briefing held yesterday by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, the team affirmed that the Grand Coloane Resort has been designated again as a quarantine facility as of Sunday.
Before the announcement at the media briefing, the Times published a story about the new policy. The inclusion of the resort into Macau’s list of quarantine hotels was intended to house an expected influx of returnees this week who wished to be out of quarantine to enjoy Christmas in the nick of time.
As of December 7, a total of 1,402 people were undergoing the 14-day mandatory quarantine in Macau. Among them, the majority, 785, were tourists. Macau residents totaled 579. The remaining were blue card holders.
The city’s weekly tourist traffic, including arrivals and departures, experienced a drop of 8.9% week-on-week from November 30 to December 6, amounting to 293,400. Staff Reporter

Gov’t cancels New Year countdown events

After an evaluation of the impact of the pandemic, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced that it will cancel the“2020 Macau Countdown Event.” The Fireworks Display for New Year’s Eve, supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office, will also be cancelled.
The countdown events in Macau and Taipa feature many local and foreign performers, involving nearly 30,000 participants every year, the IC noted.
“The countdown event draws large numbers of people in the surrounding performance area close to the early morning hours, and such high density may risk having crowds gathering. In order to place public health in high priority, IC cancelled the countdown event this year,” the bureau stated.