The Macau Health Bureau (SSM) said yesterday that BioNTech mRNA vaccines for children aged at least six months but under five years are expected to be delivered to Macau next month or in November.

Leong Iek Hou, who heads the Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Division of the Health Bureau, made the remarks during yesterday’s weekly press conference by the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre.

The Health Bureau first revealed last month its plan to purchase BioNTech mRNA jabs that have been developed for children aged from six months to four years.

Currently, Germany’s BioNTech mRNA jabs are administered to those aged five or over in Macau, while the other type of COVID-19 vaccine currently available in the city, China’s Sinopharm inactivated vaccine, is used for those aged three or over.

Previously, the Health Bureau had quoted the German manufacturer as saying that it still did not have a timetable as to when it would be able to deliver the newly developed mRNA doses to Macau.

When asked by reporters again during yesterday’s press conference about the latest progress of the delivery of BioNTech mRNA doses for children aged from six months to four years, Leong said that the Health Bureau was still discussing arrangements and other details about the delivery of the doses to Macau with the manufacturer.

Leong said that the German manufacturer has recently informed the bureau that it now expects to be able to deliver its mRNA jabs for children aged from six months to four years to Macau next month or in November. However, Leong did not reveal how many doses will be shipped to Macau.

Moreover, Leong also said that the Health Bureau could “immediately” commence the administration of BioNTech mRNA doses for kids aged from six months to four years once they have been delivered to Macau, because it has considerable experience in administering mRNA jabs. 

Ruling out axing hotel quarantine

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s press conference Leong expressly ruled out the possibility of the Macau government cancelling its hotel quarantine requirements for arrivals from countries and regions affected by COVID-19, because, she said, axing hotel quarantine would be “inconsistent” with Macau’s dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Currently, those arriving in Macau from Hong Kong, Taiwan, foreign countries, or areas affected by COVID-19 in the mainland must undergo seven days of hotel quarantine plus three days of self-health management, i.e., a “7+3” model.

Currently, Hong Kong implements a “3+4” model for arrivals from countries and regions affected by COVID-19, i.e., three days of hotel quarantine plus four days of home health monitoring.

According to recent Hong Kong media reports, the Hong Kong government is studying the possibility of cancelling its hotel quarantine requirements for all arrivals in the near future, i.e., a “0+7” model or even “0+3” or “0+0” models.

During yesterday’s press conference by Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, reporters quoted recent Hong Kong media reports and asked whether Macau could further relax its hotel quarantine requirements. Leong underlined that the Macau government’s hotel quarantine requirements for arrivals from countries and regions affected by COVID-19 aim to prevent the novel coronavirus from entering the community. She noted that all those undergoing hotel quarantine after arriving in Macau must undergo a number of COVID-19 nucleic acid tests during the quarantine period.

Leong noted that Macau is currently experiencing its normalised COVID-19 prevention and control period with zero community cases, while the city is reporting new imported COVID-19 cases every day, indicating that arrivals from countries and regions affected by COVID-19 carry a higher risk of having been infected with the novel coronavirus.

Leong said that no longer requiring those arriving in Macau from COVID-19-affected countries and regions, or significantly shortening their hotel quarantine period, would certainly increase the COVID-19 risk in the community, i.e., the novel coronavirus was very likely to enter the community. She went on to say that such possible arrangements would be “inconsistent” with the Macau government’s current dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Moreover, Leong also noted that the Macau government shortened its hotel quarantine period for arrivals from COVID-19-affected countries and regions from 10 days to 7 days last month after considering the relatively short incubation of the Omicron variant.

Possibility of shortening quarantine

Leong underlined that the Macau Health Bureau will continue to collect and assess the latest data on COVID-19 positive cases imported into Macau and on cases elsewhere, with the aim of studying the possibility of further shortening its hotel quarantine period for arrivals from COVID-19-affected countries and regions.

Leong went on to explain that if new data in the near future indicate that almost all of those infected with COVID-19 test positive for the novel coronavirus during the first few days after catching the virus, Macau could further relax its hotel quarantine period.

Leong underlined that Macau’s hotel quarantine requirements for arrivals from COVID-19-affected countries and regions are linked with its dynamic zero-COVID policy. She said that Macau could study the possibility of cancelling its hotel quarantine requirements – even despite the fact that those infected with the novel coronavirus go through an incubation period, if Macau would be able to further improve its preparedness for tackling COVID-19 in the long term.

According to Leong, better preparedness means that more people in Macau, namely senior citizens and children who have still not been vaccinated, will get inoculated against COVID-19, and new medicines that are effective in treating COVID-19 cases will be successfully developed. If better preparedness is achieved in Macau in the future, Leong said, the novel coronavirus having entered the community would not cause a massive outbreak and neither would it result in a large number of serious and even fatal cases.

Meanwhile, reporters also asked whether next month’s resumption of Air Macau’s regular passenger flights between Macau and Hanoi and Tokyo would increase Macau’s COVID-19 risk. Leong said that as long as Macau strictly implements its COVID-19 entry and quarantine measures and the city’s quarantine hotels strictly comply with “closed-loop management” measures for staff members subject to a higher COVID-19 risk, the resumption of more international flights at the local airport, in principle, would not increase COVID-19 risks to the community.

Air Macau flights to Hanoi and Tokyo from Macau will be resumed from October 12 and 13 respectively. 

As of last night, Macau’s tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 793, including six fatalities, while the tally of asymptomatic cases amounted to 1,604, according to the Macau Health Bureau.

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 COVID-19 situation. – Photo: GCS