Rise in border crossing activity mostly due to Macau residents

The number of daily crossings in and out of Macau is on the rise, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) told yesterday’s daily press conference, despite the warnings of the local government about the dangers of congregating in busy places such as the Border Gate.

A total of 73,000 crossings were made last Sunday, with 37,000 inbound and 36,000 outbound crossings made. Local people topped crossing numbers, making a total of 25,000 outbound and 27,000 inbound crossings, and accounting for over 70% of all border crossings.

Tourism is also on the rise. The PSP reported yesterday that 9,100 tourist entries were recorded on Sunday, while 1,100 outbound crossings were recorded.

In the meantime, non-Macau residents who have been to a high risk area in the past 14 days are still advised to get medical checks within six to eight hours of entering. Although the measure is being managed by the Health Bureau (SSM), the PSP has been assisting with the delivery.

On Sunday, the PSP sent 2,285 people to the Macau Forum and 1,671 to the Taipa Ferry Terminal for medical checks. The law allows people to refuse being checked, but they will not be permitted to enter Macau. Accordingly, 258 people refused checks. Two local residents were sent be checked due to their frequent border-crossings.

Yesterday was Macau’s 34th day without a new Covid-19 infection, as counted from February 5. All confirmed patients have recovered and three local patients are now in recovery quarantine at the Public Health Clinical Center in Coloane.

Recovery quarantine measures raised some public concerns as to whether these recovered patients could be considered non-contagious.

Lo Iek Long, medical director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital, clarified at yesterday’s press conference that Macau is implementing stricter criteria for discharge compared to hospitals on the mainland.

The average length of hospitalization for a Covid-19 patient in Macau is 28 days. In the mainland, the average length is nine days, as guidelines issued by the National Health Commission suggest. However, there are other criteria for discharge from hospital.

The mainland guidelines require two negative test results 24 hours apart before a patient can be discharged. The Macau SSM is lengthening the gap to 48 hours.

Additionally, the Tourism Crisis Management Office has commissioned Macau telecom companies to send messages to customers currently in Spain, France, Germany, and Japan. The messages are to notify users about new quarantine measures being implemented from noon today.

According to the office, 251 messages in total were sent to detectable mobile devices. Nineteen were in Spain, 15 in Germany, 38 in France and 179 in Japan.

On the other hand, the office disclosed that there are currently 257 people in the quarantine facilities, with 18 Macau residents, six tourists and the remaining being mainland residents. Macau residents have the option to undergo quarantine at home should their households meet guidelines issued by the SSM.

Despite last weekend’s rescue mission from the provincial capital of Wuhan, there are still 118 Macau residents scattered around the central Chinese province of Hubei.

When asked what criteria the government will use when deploying extra chartered flights to retrieve some or all the remaining Macau residents, the panel at the press conference pointed out that they were considering a series of factors, such as the condition of those being repatriated and the effect on the task force working on the rescue mission. It was too early, according to the government, to determine when the next rescue mission will be conducted, if there is any.

The 57 returnees from Wuhan were all in satisfactory condition after Sunday’s negative test results. Two had coughs, which were found to be caused by other illnesses. An 11-year-old girl was coughing due to her pre-existing asthma.

Seven of the returned Macau residents, including the 11-year-old, suffer from chronic illnesses. A woman who suffers from a thyroid problem is the only patient to have had her illness attended to by non-government doctors. Due to the quarantine, her case is now being monitored by bureau doctors.

Lo said that the SSM has the ability to handle a maximum of 180 Covid-19 patients at one time.