Macau is one of just 15 countries and territories to have reportedly eliminated Covid-19, according to official data collated from around the world.
Macau’s last case recovered on May 19. The region became Covid-19 free the same day as Saint Kitts and Nevis, a small island nation in the West Indies.
Many of the other countries or territories that have managed to eliminate the virus are small island nations that are distant from Covid-19 epicenters. These countries or territories are Anguilla, the Caribbean Netherlands, Dominica, Eritrea, the Faeroe Islands, the Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, Papua New Guinea, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Seychelles and Timor-Leste.
Data collectors note that there are some discrepancies between health authorities about what constitutes a recovered case. The World Health Organization recommends the adoption of one of two sets of criteria: either 14 days after the patient’s symptoms have resolved, or after symptoms disappear and the patient tests negative for the virus twice within a 48-hour window. In some countries, a patient counted as “recovered” when they were discharged from hospital, even if no testing was performed. DB
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