Macau has confirmed its second imported Covid-19 infection case involving the Omicron variant, the city’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre said on Wednesday. The infected person is a 62-year-old male, a Macau ID holder who returned to the city on December 27 from the United States, via a transit stop in Singapore.
In a Thursday update, Macau’s Covid-19 task force said that the patient had – after being initially asymptomatic – started to show symptoms. He was, therefore, classified as Macau’s 79th confirmed Covid-19 infection case. The city confirmed its first imported case of Omicron earlier this week, a 23-year-old male Macau ID holder who returned to the city on December 25, from the U.S. via Singapore.
Under Macau’s “closed loop” system for managing Covid-19, all air travellers from overseas are immediately placed in quarantine whether or not they test ‘positive’ on arrival.
Currently, mainland China remains the only place that has a largely quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau. The neighbouring city of Hong Kong – in pre-pandemic times an important source of gamblers for Macau’s casinos – is yet to ease travel ties with Macau.
Hong Kong has recently seen imported Covid-19 infection cases involving the Omicron variant. A total of 70 Omicron cases had been recorded as of Wednesday, said that city’s Centre for Health Protection in a press statement.
(Updated Dec 30, at 5:59pm)
