Latest local Covid-19 patient not down with mutated virus strains

DNA analysis has shown that Macau’s latest Covid-19 patient, who was detected in Macau last Thursday, is not carrying any type of mutant SARS-CoV-2 strains, Dr Alvis Lo of the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center announced at yesterday’s weekly press briefing.
The patient, a 43-year-old local woman who has returned from Dubai with stopovers in Singapore and Tokyo, alighted from her final leg of flights at the Macau International Airport, where her nasopharyngeal samples were taken for two separate Covid-19 tests, namely a rapid test and a regular one.
Her rapid test result showed that she had contracted the virus. She showed no symptoms or discomfort upon arrival in the city. She is now hospitalized in the isolation ward of the government hospital in a stable clinical condition.
Meanwhile, Lo disclosed that the patient is showing no pneumonia.
Furthermore, the health authorities have also conducted antibody tests on the patient, which yielded a negative result for the IgM antibody and positive for the IgG antibody.
The former type of antibody exists at an early stage of SARS-CoV-2 contraction, while the latter at a later stage. The patient’s result hence showed that the contraction took place some time ago.
“Our analysis is that the contraction is at least three weeks old,” Lo concluded.
The 26th round of the Centralized Mask Supply will start tomorrow. Each resident or non-resident worker is entitled to 30 masks at the price of MOP24 with their ID. Children aged between 3 and 8 years can get 30 adult masks, 30 children masks or 15 of each.