No workers should bear mandatory NAT expenses, authorities reaffirm

No workers included in the so-called professional key groups should bear the expenses related to the nucleic acid tests (NAT) that are mandatory due to their professional risk, the coordinator at the local Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Leong Iek Hou, said yesterday during the regular weekly briefing on Covid-19 in Macau.

In response to a media inquiry on the topic, Leong explained that all the workers who must undergo NATs due to their professional risk are included in the key groups, while the frequency of these NATs differs according to different professions and risk exposure.

She also reaffirmed information provided previously, which stated, “there are only two types of NAT: the first, for the high-risk workers, for which […] the government […] cover[s] the costs and cannot be used to cross the border; and the second type paid by the companies and that can be used for border crossing.”

“Either way, it is never the worker who shoulders the expense,” Leong reiterated noting, “this is a guideline that we are following and that comes [as a] direct instruction from the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. If there are companies who are unclear about the application of this rule, they should communicate with the government for clarification. We have already issued these guidelines for companies to follow and they are very clear.”

Leong also clarified the false information aired by the media representative during the inquiry which suggested that the NAT performed on the mainland for border crossing would not be suitable for work in Macau and border-crossers would need to do a second test locally.

“The NAT from the mainland can be used in Macau, and as long as the negative result is recorded in the health code and transferred to the Macau health code system it can be used for work. There is no need to do another NAT. Besides, we have also already mentioned on several occasions that workers do not [need] to do [a] NAT as a pre-requisite to go to work. Instead, they should [take the test] according to the necessary frequency, as part of their work duties,” Leong remarked, explaining that this rule has already been in force for almost a month.

In response to another media inquiry, Leong added that the current number of workers included in key groups in Macau is about 188,000, with the large majority composed of professions with direct instructions from the State Council.

“We have only made small local adjustments to the instructions and guidelines of the State Council. We added a few specific professions which account for some 20,000 to 30,000 of the total figure of 188,000. Included in these groups are workers from logistics, cold chain and also cleaning and security staff, among others,” the same official explained.

She also added that, for the time being, there is no date for the reduction or cessation of the NAT for key groups, noting that the instructions from the central government state that while there is a risk of infection, and under the dynamic Covid-zero strategy, there is a need to continue with these measures to detect any possible cases immediately, before they cause large-scale community outbreaks.

Visitor numbers increase by over 40% this week

According to information provided by the Public Security Police Force (PSP) representative to the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, Ma Chio Hong, the general number of visitors over the past seven days increased by 43.2% when compared to the previous week.

According to the figures presented by Ma, there was a slight increase over last weekend (August 20 and 21), with the number of entries and exits reaching 31,100 and 31,000 people respectively, but after the weekend the number remained steady with last Monday recording 30,600 border crossings of visitors, as well as 30,700 on Tuesday and 30,400 on Wednesday.

This influx of visitors also contributed to a 15.5% increase to the total figure of weekly border crossings, including local residents and non-resident workers.