The Macau government announced in a Wednesday evening press conference that the number of COVID confirmed cases in Macau has increased to 71, with five working in casinos of which two are casino dealers.
According to the Novel Coronavirus Response Coordination Center, 24 cases possess symptoms and 47 are asymptomatic. 51 cases are female and 20 are male ranging in age from 8 months to 89 years old.
The authorities have identified three groups of cases, the “Yim Lai” building group with 36 cases, the “Tat Cheong” building group with 26 cases, and the “Tim Fung” cleaning service group with two cases, both now in Zhuhai. The other seven cases are not yet assigned to any group and are subject to ongoing investigation.
Also announced was that the yet-to-be-opened England Marina Club Hotel (英倫遊艇會酒店) will begin to house people with positive test results immediately. The hotel forms part of the Co-Tai Marina Bay project on the former Pousada Marina Infante site, just north of Broadway Macau.
There are now 12 “red code” lockdown zones in Macau and five yellow code zones, with 2,965 people in these zones.
The total number of inbound tourists on Tuesday was a mere 330, down 99.7% on the daily average for 2019.
Head of Macau’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Leong Iek Hou, said that five of the confirmed cases were working in casinos, comprised of one executive, two dealers, one table manager and one member of cleaning staff.
Leong also said, “There is no plan to close casinos for the time being. The government will close venues based on scientific risk assessment.”
Health Bureau Director, Alvis Lo, said that a second round of NAT mass testing will start from 9am on Thursday (June 23) until 12 midnight on Friday (June 24).
IAG asked why the public had to undergo yet another round mass testing on Thursday and Friday after completing an RAT on Wednesday. Lo’s explanation was, “The first mass testing and the rapid testing were found to have confirmed patients, and the RAT test is not as accurate as NAT testing, so mass testing will be conducted again on Thursday.”
When asked how many times will Macau conduct mass testing Lo said, “The government will evaluate the results of the nucleic acid tests and assess whether there is any transmission in the community.”
Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) Director Kong Chi Meng said that secondary and elementary schools and kindergartens will end this semester’s curriculum immediately.
