Four new patients diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease were admitted to the Health Bureau’s (SSM) isolation and treatment facilities on Monday, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced yesterday.

According to the Health Bureau’s COVID-19 website, which was updated yesterday, Macau’s official cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at 3,503, of which 3,368 had meanwhile been cured.

Macau’s official COVID-19 death toll has remained unchanged at 121 as no fatalities were recorded on Monday. Macau had not recorded any COVID-19 fatalities for four consecutive days, from Friday to Monday, after one fatality was reported on Thursday last week.

Before one fatality was reported on Thursday last week, Macau had not recorded any COVID-19 fatalities for seven consecutive days, from January 26 to Wednesday last week.

Since Monday, teachers and students have no longer been required to undergo a daily rapid antigen test (RAT, aka self-test) before going to school. In addition, they are now also no longer required to self-test for COVID-19 before participating in inter-school sports and other competitions.

However, an Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) statement said last week that teachers and students who feel discomfort should self-test with an RAT kit at home before going to school. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 should neither go to school nor participate in competitions.

According to last week’s statement, students who had recovered from COVID-19 before the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday period can now gradually resume more intensive activities in their physical education (PE) classes. However, the statement said, PE teachers still need to adjust the curriculum, training content and assessment requirements as appropriate, based on individual students’ health condition.

Last week’s DSEDJ statement also said that students who have recently been infected with COVID-19 and are still in the early stage of recovery should take the initiative to inform their schools so that their PE teachers will not arrange for them to engage in high-intensity exercise.