The total number of confirmed cases from the new wave of COVID-19 in Macau has reached 110. The government has announced the cancellation of dining in at restaurants and the closure of entertainment venues such as gyms, cinemas and beauty salons from Thursday.
In a special press conference held on Thursday afternoon, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said the epidemic has caused great impact and disturbance to the public and people working in Macau. “The government has issued a directive for the mandatory closure of certain establishments and strongly urged residents to take precautionary measures,” Ho said.
As well as today ordering the closure of cinemas, game and video game rooms, internet cafes, beauty salons, gyms, bars and other entertainment venues from 5 pm, the Chief Executive announced that restaurants will no longer be allowed to accept dine-in customers.
The last time Ho Iat Seng decided to close entertainment establishments was on 6 October 2021, when Macau was also experiencing an epidemic outbreak. However, this is the first time restaurants have been required to cancel dining-in.
The Novel Coronavirus Response Coordination Center announced that the criteria for setting up a “code red” zone will be adjusted so that if two confirmed patients are in the same building it will be classified as “code red”. If only one confirmed patient is in a building it will be classified as a “code yellow” zone.
Director of the Health Bureau, Alvis Lo Iek Long, said that after the second round of universal nucleic acid testing, the prevailing situation will dictate whether to launch a third round of city-wide nucleic acid testing.
In related pandemic news, some Macau citizens today (Thursday) shared video on social media showing people quarantined at the Sheraton hotel who had opened their room doors and were interacting with each other. The Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) said it will investigate the incident in conjunction with the police and review CCTV footage.
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