A nucleic acid test for SARS-CoV-2 has been made mandatory for banquets and receptions with 200 or more attendees, the government announced yesterday, after reducing recovery quarantine from 21 to seven days.
Prior to this, the NAT requirement for banquets and receptions organized by government bodies or associations was limited to those attended by over 400 people.
Private events, such as weddings, baby showers, birthday or retirement banquets or receptions, do not have a NAT requirement for all attendees. The mandate only applies to hosts who plan to propose formal toasts at their events.
The government emphasized that venue or service providers of these events have a responsibility to remind their customers about this requirement.
Meanwhile, the organizers are responsible for ensuring social distancing, minimizing the duration of events, collecting contact details of attendees and retaining seating plans for 28 days for further contact tracing.
Toasting should be minimized or conducted while wearing a mask. Organizers and the government should be notified if any attendee tests positive for SARS-CoV-2 after events. The government also recommends the use of serving utensils to reduce the risk of transmission.
Despite the government tightening restrictions on banquets and receptions, it has announced that, following the latest edition of the Covid-19 handbook issued by the National Health Commission of China, the duration of recovery quarantine on those discharged from the hospital after treatment on SARS-CoV-2 will be shortened from 21 to seven days.
Nonetheless, the government stressed that those required to undertake quarantine-upon-arrival will emerge from quarantine no earlier than the original end-date, calculated from the date of arrival.
Recovered patients will no longer be quarantined at the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane, a venue with medical-level ventilation and facilities. Instead, they will stay in quarantine hotels.
After this quarantine, recovered patients should manage their health at home or in a designated hotel for seven days.
The criteria for recovery have also been updated. Relapsed patients will need three negative NATs, at 24-hour intervals, to be classed as recovered. New patients will follow this same protocol, but the negative results must come at least 10 days after their first positive results.
A specialist panel will determine if a patient is considered recovered if the patient does not test negative three weeks after their first positive result.
