The Government Information Bureau (GCS) has opened an official account on Instagram to bring government news to young people. The account was opened yesterday with the handle “macaugcs”. The local government is seeking to cater to young people’s daily habits of using new media sources to bring them up to date with the government’s latest developments. Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the SAR government has been releasing new information every day to the public, including preventive measures, through various platforms such as the Health Bureau’s website and the GCS website. Although the local government often provides simplified and traditional Chinese versions of these news stories, not all of them have been officially, nor promptly, translated into Portuguese or English.
Business lawmakers want more financial support for SMEs
Three lawmakers jointly requested the local government to provide additional financial support to local SMEs following the introduction of the government’s rental exemption benefits. The local government had previously decided to waive three months of rent for local SMEs operating out of government-owned commercial properties. Lawmakers Chui Sai Cheong, Ip Sio Kai, and Wang Sai Man want the local government to further help local SMEs by reducing or exempting them from paying various taxes, such as water and electricity bills, and some taxes. In addition, the three lawmakers, who are stakeholders in local SMEs, urged the Macau government to launch a financial subsidy and a “consumer vouchers” program to reduce SMEs’ operational pressure and to encourage local residents to consume locally in Macau.
Health Bureau to use WeChat group for frontline medical staff
Leaders of the Health Bureau (SSM) have chosen WeChat as the medium through which they will communicate with the city’s medical professionals working on the frontline to combat the novel coronavirus epidemic. According to the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, leaders at the SSM have set up a group chat on WeChat with more than 500 frontline medical professionals hoping to gather information on the coronavirus from them. Yesterday, SSM Director Lei Chin Ion and others visited several medical facilities, including the Conde S. Januário Hospital, to learn more about the work of frontline medical staff. The visit comes after a group of nurses from Kiang Wu Hospital published an open letter accusing the private hospital of undermining the government’s strategy to control the local outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
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