The Macao Special Administrative Region Government temporarily utilizes Metropole Hotel as the fifth hotel designated for medical observation starting from today (March 21). Metropole Hotel is situated in Macao peninsula and has a total supply of 112 rooms.
In the process of choosing designated hotels for medical observation, it requires the SAR Government to take a diverse range of factors and conditions into careful consideration, as well as to gain the consent of the designated hotels. During the process of decision-making, the Health Bureau must be consulted for opinion to minimize the level of risk.
It is worth noting that all individuals under mandatory quarantine at designated hotels for medical observation are without symptoms and have not been in close contact with confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia. Health Bureau requires all persons under mandatory quarantine to take their own temperature twice per day, while the authority also checks on their latest physical condition by phone per day. Once they are found to have fever or other concerned symptoms, the persons under quarantine will immediately be sent to hospital for further check-up. Novel coronavirus pneumonia can spread through respiratory droplets in close distance but not through the air. Residents who live near the designated hotels can be reassured if such concerns may arise.
Considering that it would be a safer option for residents, upon their return to Macao, to undergo medical observation at designated hotels rather than self-quarantine at home, the Government will continue to look for more hotels that can be converted into venues of medical observation.