The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, holds a press conference on the latest developments related to COVID-19 in Macao.
The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, today reassured the Macao public that the current infection outbreak was still under control. Supplies of day-to-day produce were being increased steadily. Mr Ho urged the public not to rush to resupply their stocks.
The Chief Executive pledged utmost effort to protect the safety and health of the Macao public. The Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government was committed to curbing the spread of COVID-19 in the community, to sustain the day-to-day needs of the public, and to ensure the stability of the community.
Mr Ho made the remarks today during a press conference held at the Government Headquarters, to provide updates on the epidemic-related situation in Macao. Other officials attending the press conference were the Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, and the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Ms Ao Ieong U.
The Government would continue to monitor closely and to evaluate the outbreak, acting decisively – via a number of measures – in order stringently to control the risk of it spreading, said Mr Ho.
Measures in place included: a district- and risk-specific epidemic prevention plan; rounds of citywide nucleic acid testing; specific nucleic acid testing for key areas and target groups; citywide rapid antigen tests and the declaration of such test results in a way that could be linked to the Macao Health Code system; and measures involving consolidating effort in relation to the regional joint prevention and control mechanisms.
Mr Ho said he understood the latest outbreak had wrought immense disruption to the life and work of the Macao public. On behalf of the Government, the Chief Executive extended his gratitude to the Macao public and all sectors of the community for their compliance with, and understanding of, the anti-epidemic measures, and for the unity displayed to fight the disease. He also thanked those working in front-line roles, that were ensuring the safety of the people in Macao.
The Government would continue to persist with the strategy of “preventing imported cases and a rebound of the epidemic”, stressed Mr Ho. The Government would pay close attention to the suggestions and advice of the community, including different ethnic groups in Macao, he added.
The Chief Executive reiterated his confidence in efforts to control the spread of the outbreak, and the city’s ability to return to its normal social order. This would be achieved with concerted effort from the Macao community, backed by strong support from the Central Government, the Guangdong Government, and governments of neighbouring mainland cities.
In addition, Mr Ho mentioned that, starting from 5pm today, a number of leisure facilities across the city were being suspended from operation; restaurant dining-in services were also being suspended. He urged the Macao public to maintain adequate measures to safeguard their own health, and cooperate with Government measures.
Most cases of COVID-19 infection recently confirmed in Macao involved the BA.5.1 subvariant of the Omicron variant, a departure from the officially-confirmed trend seen on the mainland. The MSAR Government had worked round-the-clock in its epidemiological investigation work, in order to identify source of outbreak and stop spread in the community.
Mr Ho said the mainland authorities had been supporting Macao’s anti-epidemic work ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 alert. An expert team led by Mr Zhong Nanshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and head of the National Health Commission's high-level expert team regarding COVID-19, had helped Macao in estimating the incidence rate and the stage of the outbreak.
Based on evaluation by the expert team from the mainland, the latest outbreak in Macao was still manageable despite the virus spreading rapidly, said Mr Ho.
When reporters asked about whether there might be suspension of the city’s casinos, Mr Ho said the Government had required closure of casinos in 2020 because there were no means at that time to detect source of virus, relative to what was possible now. The Government had an agreement with gaming operators that there would not be blanket closure of operations. Were an individual casino found to be linked to an infection cluster, only that particular casino would suspend its operation. There was a balance to be struck between practicalities and economic development, said Mr Ho.
During the press conference, Secretary for Security Mr Wong gave a report during the media briefing regarding the liaison work between Macao and Zhuhai. Macao had close contact with the authorities in Guangdong Province and in the city of Zhuhai, in order to ensure a stable supply to Macao of day-to-day produce.
There was an aggregate of four groups of people allowed quarantine-free travel between the two cities, said Mr Wong. They were: drivers delivering day-to-day goods; those working to ensure funeral services; officials on urgent business; and medical patients with severe illness.
Secretary Ao Ieong gave a report on epidemic-related investigation work, saying the Government was devoting all-out effort to trace source of infection and cut off transmission routes in the community. The Government was confident it could, via testing, make early identification of infection cases within the community.
