Gov’t drops outdoor mask wearing for most places

Mask wearing will no longer be suggested for outdoor environments, although it is still required at certain indoor venues, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday.

Government officials have reiterated that except during the June 18 outbreak last year, no mask mandate has been imposed in Macau. Mask wearing has nearly always been “recommended.” In June last year, however, the Chief Executive issued an Executive Dispatch making out-of-home mask wearing compulsory.

Although mask-wearing recommendations in outdoor areas have been eased, masks are still required to enter medical institutions, except for inpatients; elderly and rehabilitation homes, except for those living in them; or on public transport other than taxis, the centre said.

Operators of other types of indoor venues and means of transport may decide whether masks are required for their customers. If so, proper announcements or notices should be posted appropriately, the centre said.

If the local Covid-19 situation escalates, events or venue operators “should require people to wear a mask before entering relevant premises,” the centre noted. People with respiratory symptoms should also wear masks, it added. Those below the age of three are exempted from wearing masks.

The centre has suggested people carry masks when in public.

Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) announced that from today, under general situations, teachers and students of schools of non-tertiary education will not be required to wear masks during classes or activities.

Tertiary education institutions should refer to the relevant requirements for implementation.

Also, interviews for children entering kindergarten for the first time in the academic year 2023/2024 will commence from 1 March, parents and children are not required to wear masks when entering schools or during the interviews.

Too early for mass

outbreak conclusion

At a recent government event, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng declined to comment on the December outbreak, “because Covid-19 has not yet ended.”

He said the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, had summarized the past outbreak in parliament, but asked the press whether the disease had completely faded. “It has not,” said Ho, adding new cases have been regularly recorded.

The head of the government said it was“not appropriate” to issue a general summary on the December outbreak.

A new online media organisation has reported that a man, whose wife caught Covid-19 and died during labor, wanted the government to honestly admit it “had had too much on its plate.”

Ho was asked if a summary on the outcomes of the mass outbreak will be released, including but not limited to deaths and those caused by insufficient medical staff. He was also asked if he was aware of the report and the requests the man made in the report.

Ho did not say whether he was aware of the case, but said that should anyone feel impacted by the government’s disease control measures, they have the right to initiate judicial procedures against the government.