the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre holds its regular press conference.
No new case of COVID-19 was recorded in Macao on Monday (6 April). The tally of confirmed infection cases in the city remains at 44.
The information was provided by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre during its regular press conference held on Monday afternoon.
The 43rd case was confirmed on Friday (3 April). It involves a 53-year-old female Macao resident, who works in a clerical role. The case has been classified as an imported infection.
From 4 February until late March, the woman and her husband had been on holiday in Portugal, visiting family there. On 26 March, the couple visited in Portugal a family member who was later confirmed as a COVID-19 patient. On 30 March, the couple boarded KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight KL1694 from Lisbon to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, then took a connecting service, flight KL887, to Hong Kong. The woman was in seat number 1D on the Lisbon-Amsterdam leg of journey and in seat number 5C for the flight to Hong Kong. Upon arrival at Hong Kong International Airport on the afternoon of 31 March, the couple took a Government-chartered coach to Macao from Hong Kong International Airport via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (HKZM) Bridge to the HKZM Bridge’s Macao boundary crossing area.
During checkpoint formalities at the Macao boundary crossing area, the woman had a normal body temperature and had not shown any symptoms of illness. Under the Macao epidemic-control measures in place at that point, the couple was directed to undergo a 14-day period of medical observation at the Pousada Marina Infante, a hotel used for that purpose.
A nasopharyngeal swab test conducted on 3 April confirmed the woman had COVID-19. The patient is now being kept in isolation for treatment at Conde S. Januário Hospital. She is described as showing mild clinical signs of infection relating to the novel coronavirus.
Her husband has been identified as person in close contact with the COVID-19 patient. He has been placed under medical observation at a Health Bureau facility.
The city’s 44th case – recorded on Sunday (5 April) – involves a 52-year-old male Macao resident, a person who does not work. The man had been living in the United Kingdom. He is the husband of Macao’s 40th infection case and the father of the 41st case. The case was categorised as an imported infection.
On 26 March, the man travelled home, along with five family members, including the 40th case and 41st case. They boarded Cathay Pacific Airways flight CX250 from London to Hong Kong. The man’s seat number was 22K. On the evening of 27 March, the now-patient and his family members took a Government-chartered coach to Macao from Hong Kong International Airport via the HKZM Bridge to the HKZM Bridge’s Macao boundary crossing area.
The man had been classified as a person in close contact with the confirmed patients. Prior to affirmation that his wife and son were infected, he had already been staying at the Hotel Royal Dragon for a 14-day period of medical observation.
Nasopharyngeal swab tests conducted respectively on 31 March and 1 April showed ‘negative’ readings. The man developed a sore throat and cough on 2 April and had a fever and body aches on 3 April. A third swab confirmed his infection.
He is now being kept in isolation for treatment at Conde S. Januário Hospital. He is described as showing mild clinical signs of infection relating to the novel coronavirus.
There are 34 patients in Macao confirmed currently to have COVID-19 infection. A total of 20 patients are being kept in isolation for treatment at Conde S. Januário Hospital, the other 14 are staying at the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane. The 10 previously-confirmed cases in Macao have all been discharged after receiving treatment at Conde S. Januário Hospital.
Meanwhile one of the 34 current cases – a 50-year-old female identified as the 18th infection case – was described as being in a stable condition, but was still in need of a ventilator to help her breathe.
Two of the current COVID-19 patients have fever but have not experienced breathing difficulties. One other patient needed low-flow oxygen treatment at certain times in a day, and improvements in the person’s condition had been observed.
As of 2pm on Monday (6 April), the Macao authorities had dealt with a total of 3,692 people suspected of having COVID-19, including the 44 that have been confirmed with infection. A total of 3,647 people had been given the all-clear, and test results were pending on one person. There was an aggregate of 147 people in Macao classified as having had close contact with confirmed COVID-19 patients. Of those 147 people, 121 had respectively completed a 14-day period of medical observation with no symptoms of infection.
As of Monday, a total of 150 samples had been sent to the Public Health Laboratory for analysis in relation to COVID-19.
There were 131 people as of Sunday (5 April) embarking on a 14-day period of medical observation in relation to COVD-19 risk. That took the tally in Macao of those so far subject to such evaluation to 3,879 individuals.
As of Sunday, there were 1,498 people undergoing relevant medical observation in Macao, spread across several locations. Three people were undergoing self-isolation at home; 1,491 people were in designated hotels; and seven individuals were staying at Health Bureau facilities.