Macau has set up an emergency response team to deal with the deadly Wuhan coronavirus epidemic.
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Ao Ieong U announced yesterday the team will be responsible for a comprehensive plan, instructions, and the coordination of all public and private entities in preventing and controlling any disease outbreak, the Macau Daily Times reports. The team directly reports to the Chief Executive.
The Health Bureau, said the response team is an upgrade of the measures in force.
The team will operate 24 hours per day, with its hotline number as 2870 0800.
During a press conference, yesterday, Ao Ieong said that Macau is facing the risk of an infectious disease outbreak.
The local government has been monitoring the body temperature of passengers arriving at the Macau International Airport from Wuhan since the start of the year.
Yesterday, the authorities informed that these body temperature monitoring measures have been widened.
Starting from today, all passengers flying from mainland China to Macau will also go through a body temperature scan and must fill in a heath declaration form. If a passenger refuses to fill the health declaration form, they can be subjected to a maximum of six months in prison.
The Health Commission of Guangdong Province reported that an additional 13 pneumonia cases of the coronavirus infection were reported today, with eight in Shenzhen, three in Zhuhai and one in Zhanjiang and Huizhou.
Patients are comprised of eight males and five females. Eleven of them had a history of living in or travelling to Wuhan while two of them had a close contact with confirmed patients. Among the new cases, four are in a serious condition and two are in a critical condition.
According to Macau’s infection disease prevention law, currently, there is no need for Macau to restrict tourist arrivals or control human traffic.
Health Bureau, director Lei Chin Ion, claimed that the local government will improve prevention measures in all of Macau’s ports of entry.
