Red zone residents | Family of four slams gov’t for lacking coordination

Health measures, self-declaration and making enquiries are part of a long process of uncoordinated waiting around, the father of a family of four, currently under quarantine due to connection with the latest four patients, has hinted.
On August 3, the government announced that a family of four residing in Mei Lin Building was diagnosed with Covid-19. The building was then identified as within the red zone.
Although they are no longer living in the building, the father, surnamed Lei, told All About Macau he was certain that he and his children had passed by that building on July 31. He has previously declared his residential address as the Mei Lin Building, so his health code, alongside those of his two children, was assigned red as well.
He immediately contacted the health authorities to enquire about his condition. He was told to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test as soon as possible. He was wrongly instructed, however, that he could take the test at any station.
For several days, Lei and his sister have been in touch with the Health Bureau to find out how they can get rid of the red code. They were eventually instructed to email the bureau to address their situation.
It was only on August 6 that they were told they would be quarantined. They were also told that they must take a PCR test that same day. At 8 p.m., the police called and told them they would be fetched at about 9:30 p.m.
They waited until 1 a.m. the next day, when they finally got another call from the police, who urged them to go for the test immediately. At that time, both children were already asleep. Following the test there was another wait. They only arrived at the quarantine hotel at 5:30 a.m.
Though he had two children aged 2 years and 10 months respectively, they were not provided with infant meal options, even after they made a request. The kettle in the room was also not working.
The father disclosed that his family’s quarantine period was measured from the day they first left the red zone, meaning that there was an unmonitored window period. AL