The Health Bureau (SSM) said yesterday that the government is planning for its so-called “consolidation period”, which aims to enable Macau to eventually achieve its dynamic zero-COVID goal, to last a fortnight. 

The bureau also reaffirmed that it is aiming for Macau to be able to start its consolidation period on Saturday after the government’s current restrictions on people’s movements and suspension of non-essential businesses are slated to end at 11:59 p.m. on Friday.

Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Health Bureau, made the remarks during yesterday evening’s daily press conference about the city’s current COVID-19 outbreak, which was detected on June 18.

The government first announced on Saturday that it planned to launch a consolidation period after bringing down the number of daily new cases to close to zero with frequent rounds of mandatory citywide nucleic acid tests (NATs) alongside a five-day continuation of restrictions on people’s movements and suspension of non-essential businesses.

The government said on Saturday that the launch of the consolidation period aims to enable people in Macau to gradually return to their normal life during the period while detecting possible hidden COVID-19 cases in the community by relatively frequent rounds of mandatory nucleic acid tests, before the government would be able to achieve its dynamic zero-COVID goal.

Leong reaffirmed during yesterday’s press conference that the government is now aiming for Macau to be able to enter its consolidation period on Saturday, but she was quick to add that the schedule will be subject to a possible change in line with the latest development of the current COVID-19 outbreak.

Latest tally rises by just 10

The latest tally of Macau’s current COVID-19 outbreak has increased by just 10 to 1,765, according to a Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre statement yesterday morning. The 10 new locally transmitted cases were detected between 00:00 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. on Monday, raising the outbreak tally from 1,755 as of Sunday night to 1,765 as of Monday night.

The number of new daily cases on Monday was down by 12 from the previous day.

The statement said that seven of the 10 new local cases reported on Monday were detected among COVID-19 carriers subject to management and control measures, namely lockdowns and hotel quarantine, while just three cases were detected in the community, comprising one close contact of a previously reported COVID-19 case, one case detected by mass nucleic acid tests (NATs) or among high-risk key groups of people, and one case detected among other groups of people.

Leong noted during the press conference that only three cases out of the 10 new local cases reported on Monday were detected in the community, adding that if the downward trend in the number of new daily cases detected in the community continues this week, Macau will be able to start its consolidation period on Saturday.

Leong underlined that COVID-19 measures to be carried out during the consolidation period will be certainly different to the measures implemented during a period of normalised COVID-19 prevention and control work, i.e., the normal period before the current outbreak which started around a month ago.

Leong said that during the consolidation period, non-essential businesses will only gradually resume operations, with the implementation of mandatory regular nucleic acid tests for high-risk key groups of people or for everyone and restrictions on certain business activities and other community activities.

Leong said that for the time being the government is planning for the consolidation period to last two weeks, but she was quick to add that the duration will be subject to a possible change in line with the development of the COVID-19 situation during the period.

Consolidation period measures to become stricter

Leong underlined that once the government has come up with details on the operation of the consolidation period, it will announce them. However, Leong said, the direction and principle of the measures to be carried out during the consolidation period would be that the measures for those engaged in business activities or other community activities would be even stricter than now because, she said, the city’s movement of people will then increase again due to the gradual resumption of operations of non-essential businesses.

According to Leong, the government has still not decided whether it will launch regular citywide nucleic acid tests for everyone or only regular tests for high-risk key groups of people during the consolidation period.

In addition, Leong also said that groups of people who will be exempted from possible mandatory mass nucleic acid tests during the consolidation period may be different to the three groups of people who are currently exempted from mandatory citywide nucleic acid tests.

Currently, those aged below three are exempted from the government’s mandatory citywide nucleic acid tests, and their exemptions are automatic without the need to file an application. In addition, senior citizens born on or before December 31, 1942 and residents with disabilities can apply for exemptions from mass nucleic acid tests, provided they have reduced mobility and need long-term care by others.

Leong also underlined that as now is a period during which the government is working to bring down the number of daily new cases to close to zero, COVID-19 prevention and control measures will even become stricter, with the aim of detecting possible COVID-19 carriers or those with a higher risk of having been infected with COVID-19 in the community as early as possible.

Only 1 batch of pooled samples positive in latest mass NAT round

Meanwhile, according to a Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre statement yesterday, as of 3 p.m. yesterday, 593,286 people had had their swabs taken for COVID-19 tests under the government’s 11^th mandatory citywide NAT drive, which ended at 7 p.m. yesterday. A total of 440,715 had come up with a negative result, while only one batch of pooled samples (10 samples per pooled sample) had tested positive for COVID-19 as of 3 p.m. yesterday.

The current outbreak’s 12^th mass NAT round will start at 8 a.m. today and end at 7 p.m. tomorrow.

Since the government launched frequent rounds of citywide nucleic acid tests early this month, namely starting from the current outbreak’s fourth mass NAT round, the number of COVID-19 positive results of pooled samples from each round has been gradually decreasing.

Last month, the current outbreak’s first citywide NAT drive detected 34 batches of positive pooled samples, while the second round detected 72 batches, and the third round detected 50 batches.

The fourth round was only launched several days after the third round, because of which 94 batches of positive pooled samples were detected. Since then, the number of positive results of pooled samples from each round has been constantly decreasing. The number was 41 batches in the fifth round, 23 batches in the sixth round, 17 batches in the seventh round, 13 batches in the eighth round, nine batches in the ninth round, and five batches in the 10^th round.

Meanwhile, as of yesterday afternoon the government had identified 25 clusters of the current outbreak. The Hotel Grand Lisboa cluster is the current outbreak’s 18^th cluster. Grand Lisboa was locked down about two weeks ago after the detection of COVID-19 cases in a number of staff, before the casino-hotel’s lockdown was lifted last week.

Afterwards, six more clusters were identified last week, and one more was identified on Monday, raising the latest number of the current outbreak’s identified clusters to 25.

Ho holds video-link meeting with Zhuhai Party secretary 

Meanwhile, the Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) said in a statement last night that Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng exchanged views on Macau-Zhuhai joint COVID-19 prevention and control measures with Lyu Yuyin, the secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), via videoconference, while Ho was at the Civil Protection Operations Centre yesterday. 

According to the statement Ho pointed out that the local government will strive to bring the outbreak under control as soon as possible, so that quarantine requirements for entry to Zhuhai from Macau could be gradually eased.

14 buildings locked down

Meanwhile, as of 11:20 p.m. yesterday 14 buildings had been locked down because of COVID-19 cases there. Officially, the affected buildings are known as “Red Code Zones”. 

Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Health Bureau’s (SSM) Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division, addresses yesterday’s press conference about the city’s current COVID-19 outbreak. Photo: Tony Wong