The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre confirmed in the late evening of Monday (24 May) a new imported case of COVID-19, taking to 51 the tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Macao since the epidemic alert began in 2020.
The latest case involves a 39-year-old male Macao resident, who described himself as unemployed, and denied any awareness previously of having been infected with COVID-19. On 11 February and 11 March 2021, the now-patient received jabs of the Sinopharm vaccine in Macao. On 15 March, he left for Hong Kong, and travelled onward to Nepal before the end of March. On 16 May, while in Nepal, the man took a nucleic acid test, which registered a ‘negative’ result for COVID-19 infection. On 17 May, he took a flight from Nepal to Turkey, then on 18 May a connecting flight to Paris, France. On 19 May he boarded EVA Air flight BR801 from Taipei, Taiwan, to Macao.
Upon arrival in Macao, he had tests at Conde S. Januário Hospital, showing respectively a ‘negative’ nucleic acid test result for COVID-19 infection, but ‘positive’ results respectively for immunoglobulin M antibodies (IgM) and immunoglobulin G antibodies (IgG) specific to the novel coronavirus. He was then taken to Golden Crown China Hotel for medical observation. A further nucleic acid test conducted on 24 May showed a ‘weak positive’ result for infection. He had not complained of any illness symptoms associated with COVID-19. The patient is now in the Public Health Clinical Centre in Coloane for further observation.
Vaccination against COVID-19 can reduce the risk – in the event of infection – of either morbidity, serious illness or death. It is not 100-percent efficient in terms of infection prevention.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19 generally, or an outbreak in the community, it is necessary to establish community immunity. Members of the public are advised to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as possible, if they have not yet done so. This is especially important during a time of stability in Macao regarding the epidemic. Such effort helps people protect themselves, their family and the community.
