Gov’t presents plans to face an outbreak, capacity increased to 2,700 beds

The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center presented yesterday the contingency plans in the event of a large-scale outbreak of Covid-19 in Macau.

The plan comes almost 26 months after the first confirmed case of the virus in Macau and at a time when the pandemic appears to be under control, with the last local cases of infection having been recorded in October last year.

Nevertheless, the health authorities stated that there is a need to establish a comprehensive plan that includes specific measures according to different levels of severity of the outbreak.

Explaining the different sections and areas of intervention, the director of the Health Bureau (SSM), Alvis Lo, noted that the plan raises the capacity to treat patients by over 10-fold, from the current 266 beds up to a total of 2,700 in the most severe of the forecasted scenarios.

The government will make use of makeshift hospital facilities, treatment community centers, and hotels for a plan that also includes the installation of mobile and inflatable laboratories for nucleic acid tests (NAT).

The “Large Scale Emergency Plan” also includes the creation of 15 specialized groups in different areas that will continuously analyze the situation and adjust the plan if required.

These groups include a wide range of areas from communication, patient history, triage, testing, transportation, isolation, treatment, food and supplies as well as the handling of hazardous waste, disinfection and hygiene as well as the arrangements for the deceased.

Cotai sports facilities included on phase 1

The Cotai sports facilities that include the Macao East Asian Games Dome as well as the Athletes Training and Development Centre, located next to it, are part of what the health authorities call Community Treatment Center, or phase 1 of the enforcement of the plan.

This center would enter into operation if the number of people infected with Covid-19 is between 100 and 1,499. It includes several facilities for testing, isolation, and treatment of patients with a maximum capacity of 1,400 beds.

These facilities will be solely dedicated to people with asymptomatic infections or mild symptoms, which, according to available evidence, make up the large majority of infections, said Lo.

Patients who present with or develop severe symptoms will be sent to the isolation wards of the Conde de São Januário Hospital Center or Public Health Clinical Center in Coloane.

According to the director of the SSM, these facilities can be assembled and become operational in around 10 days. This timeframe includes clearing of the facilities, cleaning, and assembly of the special facilities and necessary equipment.

Lo remarked that local makeshift facilities will not only comply but exceed the standards recommended by the World Health Organization in the number of bathroom and showering facilities per patient.

If the number of cases reaches 1,500, the authorities will initiate phase 2, in which hotel units will be also called upon to provide rooms for asymptomatic patients to isolate and to allow that those who are recovering after treatment to be transferred in order to free up isolation rooms in the treatment facilities.

Mobile and inflatable labs to increase NAT capacity

According to the results of the population-wide mass testing, the plan designed by the authorities includes the transportation and assembly in Macau of mobile NAT sample collection and an inflatable laboratory that would raise the current testing capacity of 34,000 per day, adding another 25,000 tests.

Lo explained that under normal circumstances, laboratory analysis is done on a 10 samples per tube ratio, making it possible to test the whole population in a very short time.

Lo also advanced that the government has already spoken with the equipment suppliers and confirmed that they can be brought to Macau and start operations within three to four days.

466 medical staff Required

The plan also addresses the need for medical staff to operate the temporary medical facilities.

According to Lo, if the 1,400 beds available at the Community Treatment Center are full, the health authorities would need at most, 466 staff including doctors, nurses, and other assistant staff to maintain around-the-clock operations.

Lo said that this number is not as high as initially expected because these workers will deal with people without symptoms or with mild symptoms. By keeping the number of staff efficient, the operation will not interfere with regular health services.

Lo said that the SSM has enough resources to deal with most scenarios and help will be requested from the private hospitals in Macau if required. In cases of extreme need, “we can request help also from private clinics and private practitioners as we did in the past with the mass testing. They are already prepared and trained.” Lo refused the idea that there may be a need to request help from beyond Macau’s borders. 

Emergency hotline “222” to be established

Following on the difficulties reported by users over the past two years in accessing help via phone, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center will also enforce, as part of this contingency plan, the establishment of a new emergency hotline solely dedicated to Covid-19. The new hotline “222” will have a capacity of 30 lines concurrently and aims to provide support through the internet, which Lo says is preferred by the majority of the citizens.