Authorities await final results to decide on more rounds

Local health authorities will soon decide whether more community testing is needed to tackle the recent Covid-19 outbreak.

Such a decision could include additional rounds of citywide mass testing or other forms of community testing including the administration of rapid antigen tests (RATs) or nucleic acid tests (NATs) to specific groups, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said during yesterday’s press briefing from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center.

“We don’t know yet if we will need to continue to do mass testing or if we will decide on RATs or other options that we have been using. This decision will be dependent on the final results of the mass testing, which has not yet finished [at the time of the press briefing] and on the final results of the analysis of all the samples collected,” she said in response to media inquiries.

According to the information available last night, a total of 24 groups of 10-in-1 test analyses had come back positive, indicating that there are more positive cases within the community.

The same official also noted that the final decision on whether to continue testing depended on more than just the number of cases or the incidence of new cases. She explained that it was necessary to conduct an epidemiological investigation to identify the source of these positive cases and their links, if any, to those that had been previously found and reported.

“This is the most important part. If the cases we find through RAT or NAT tests are linked to the previous cases, it is easier to control. But if the cases are new and from an unknown source, this might indicate that other sources exist that are not under control,” Leong remarked.

Concerning the mass testing that took place from 9 a.m. on June 27 until 6 p.m. on June 28, as well as the RATs requested during the same period, authorities have found several positive cases that are currently being confirmed.

Half of the positive RATs turned out to be false

Addressing the possibility of replacing the high quantity of NATs with rapid antigen self-tests, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention explained that while RATs are helping to triage and raise red flags in advance, they cannot be completely trusted as many of the positive reports submitted to the authorities turned out to be inaccurate.

“We have received some 62 positive results reports from over 651,000 RATs (until 3 p.m. on June 28) from people but, after a follow-up analysis, we realized that only around 36 of these people had positive results,” she said. Other false positives resulted from duplicate submissions and misinterpretations of the results delivered by the kit.

Leong defended the method being used by the health authorities based on a combination of NATs and RATs to reap the benefit of advantages of both systems (accuracy and speed).

“Both systems have advantages and disadvantages. We are afraid that only doing RATs might deliver a high number of inaccurate results and that, from those, a new outbreak might emerge,” she concluded.

Further, all residents must take a RAT today and tomorrow.

Tally raised to 414 cases, another 37 preliminarily positive

Providing an update on the number of positive cases found in the current outbreak, Leong said that the tally of positive cases, after the June 27 results were fully analyzed, amounts to 414 positive cases. Of these, 309 cases are asymptomatic, and 105 are symptomatic.

Leong added that there were 37 new positives cases as of 3 p.m. yesterday. While this number is only preliminary and requires confirmation, the number of positive cases is estimated to be at least 451 cases by the end of the day on June 28.

The Health Bureau continues to report only one case that is currently considered to be severe. The case was reported on Monday, but the person is in a stable condition and responding well to medication, according to Leong.

The number of clusters has increased to 11, with the inclusion of a new group that now includes seven people.

This 11th cluster is related to a dim sum eatery (San Kam Wa) located in the Areia Preta district. According to Leong, this cluster is linked to the first cluster, which mainly comprises residents of the Yim Lai building at Rua Manuel de Arriaga.

Forty-eight cases are still undergoing investigation.

Stay at Home: Not mandatory but citizens should comply

There is no law or mandate from the government that can enforce the use of facemasks in outdoor spaces or prohibit citizens from leaving their homes, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said to a media inquiry during yesterday’s press briefing from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center.

“There is no such a law or mandate from the government that can force this [wearing a facemask outdoors]. We do not use such a system to [require] people to wear a mask properly. But we do know and constantly advise people that the use of facemasks and the reduction of activity outdoors are important factors in preventing infections and the spread of the virus,” Leong said. “We know that this strain of the Covid-19 virus (BA.5.1) in particular is very transmissible and passes quickly from one person to another. We also know that damage caused by this virus can be significant, especially at the level of the lower respiratory system (trachea, bronchi and bronchioles, and the alveoli, which make up the lungs). It can cause severe clinical situations.”

The representative of the Public Security Police Force (PSP), Lei Tak Fai, added that the government has been urging people to refrain from outdoor activities and, in light of that, “PSP officers have been advising people engaged in activities [that are considered non-essential] to go back home. It is a responsible attitude toward society. When we are out of our homes, we should use a mask at all times too,” Lei remarked.

These responses came after a media inquiry questioning the legality of the police officers ordering citizens walking on the streets, sitting on street benches, or riding bicycles, to return to their homes. RM