Gov’t justifies 11th day of quarantine with result of last NAT, procedures
Local health authorities have explained the reasons for extending the 10-day quarantine period into the 11th day.
During the weekly press briefing of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, which took place yesterday, the coordinator at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, explained that the reason for the extension of the quarantine period into the 11th day was the fact that to leave the quarantine hotel, people need to undergo a final nucleic acid test (NAT) on the 10th day, and it is necessary to wait for the results of this test, so in many cases, there is a need to wait to leave the hotel until the next day, she said.
Addressing the matter, Leong said that the authorities have already communicated with the company that collects and analyses the NAT samples so that the sample collecting is done, as much as possible, during the morning period of the 10th day to allow enough time for the results to be obtained and to complete other check-out procedures.
“We are asking the company to collect the samples on the morning of the 10th day so we can have the result in the afternoon or evening. Still, there are also other procedures to be done before the checkout, so it is likely that, in some cases, it will be necessary to stay a little longer,” Leong noted.
The same official explained that the counting of the days in quarantine follows a regular procedure, exemplifying, “If a person arrived at the quarantine hotel on July 1, only on the next day [has] this person completed one full day of the quarantine,” she said, remarking that the seven NAT tests are performed on Day 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10.
The official also noted that, under the new “10+7” quarantine system, people also need to undergo an additional seven days of health self-observation, which means that the alleged “extra” day of quarantine is also the first of this period.
“7+7” requires further studying
Questioned on the matter of the possibility of a further reduction from the “10+7” model to “7+7,” Leong said that further reduction of the quarantine period requires further consideration and careful analysis of the situation.
“We have diverse opinions in society. While some call for a further reduction in the quarantine period, others fear that this might not be safe. We need to base our decision on studies and scientific data,” said the official.
“We are now observing [whether] this reduction [from 14 to 10 days] of the quarantine period poses any risks to society or not. Only after this and in case it does not cause any problem, can we consider the ‘7+7’,” the official said, adding, “We are not just considering Macau cases in this study but also the results obtained on the mainland. We know that in most cases the Omicron variant can be detected within seven days, but sometimes it is difficult to ascertain when the infection might have occurred.”
Visitor arrivals continue to drop
During the same press briefing, the representative of the Public Security Police Force (PSP), Ma Chio Hong, addressed usual figures regarding the number and type of border crossings over the last week. Analyzing the figures from the seven days that started on June 9 and went until June 15, it was possible to observe that while the general number of border crossings has grown by 8.4% to a total of almost 2.8 million, the number of border crossings pertaining to visitors has dropped by 1.4% to just about 288,000 in seven days, a figure that accounts for a daily average of just 20,600 visitors entering Macau per day. This number represents, on average, 300 fewer visitors per day, when compared with the week between June 2 and June 8.
No room to reduce NAT price in the hotels
There is no room for reducing the cost of the nucleic acid tests (NAT) performed at the quarantine venues during the medical observation period, the coordinator at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday in response to an inquiry from the media.
Leong said that, although there is a new company preparing to enter the market to provide NATs to the public at more affordable prices, this does not influence the current procedures and resources needed to collect the NAT samples at the quarantine hotels, which have a much higher cost.
The official also noted that a special benefit (50% discount) has already been granted to local students returning to Macau, a discount that is absorbed directly by the company, without any additional costs for the government, as part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility program.
