The second citywide mass testing for Covid-19 is due to come to an end by 3 p.m. today. So far, all people tested have delivered negative results, the director of the Health Bureau (SSM), Alvis Lo, said yesterday during the regular briefing from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center.
According to Lo, who cited figures collected up to 3 p.m. on Monday, a total of 607,000 tests were conducted over the past two days, all of which delivered negative results.
The figure includes 562,896 people included in the ongoing free mass testing to the whole population, plus almost 50,000 people who paid for tests themselves to be able to cross the border into the Mainland.
Lo added that it is uncertain whether the total number of nucleic acid tests (NAT) will equal the previous occasion as the number of people in Macau fluctuates. Still, he noted that this time, the mass test was conducted in a more adequate and organized manner and authorities could collect, process, and get results in a much shorter time than before.
“[This mass testing] was better than before. We have been able to collect more samples and get more results in a shorter time. But [my positive evaluation] is not just based on the time factor. We have had much more organization and we have been able to adjust our sampling posts according to the needs of the citizens,” Lo said, summing up his positive review of the second mass testing program.
“When there were agglomerations of people in lines, we have been able to adjust those posts and dispatch staff and equipment to make those lines disappear. This is exactly what we wanted to do,” Lo remarked, expressing hope that the mass testing can conclude as soon as possible so that health authorities can finally evaluate the prevention and control measures currently in force.
855 residents to undergo quarantine
Some 855 residents will have to undergo quarantine as they were found to have similar itinerary taken by the security guards who tested positive for Covid-19.
In a press conference yesterday, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced that at least 855 people have been gradually going to the temporary station at the Pac On terminal to get tested and investigated.
The government is continuously making an appeal to the public to contact relevant authorities if they have traveled from September 19 to 24 on one of the six bus routes that the security guards took.
These bus routes include 25B, 26A, 33, 37, 101X and MT1.
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