Macau will reopen parks, gardens, recreation areas and forest trails to the public on Saturday after the Chinese region recorded zero new communal cases in the past 24 hours for the sixth consecutive day
In a statement released today, the Institute for Municipal Affairs (IAM) of Macau stressed that the population will have to continue to wear surgical mask and maintain social distance in these spaces.
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When entering parks, gardens, leisure areas or the trails of the islands of Taipa and Coloane, residents will be required to take the temperature, display the green health code and register on a cell phone application the access to the site.
Despite the reopening, people will still not be able to practice “high intensity sports” such as running or cycling. Children’s playgrounds and outdoor fitness equipment will remain closed.
Also starting Saturday, people will be allowed to wear surgical masks outdoors, according to an order, signed by the head of the government, Ho Iat Seng, released today.
Currently, all adults are required to wear “KN95 or higher standard” masks when they leave their homes. The order also allows the reopening of kindergartens and shopping centers, and the resumption of construction work indoors.
The document also confirms that the so-called “consolidation” phase, which ended on Saturday, will be extended by three days, until August 2, to allow for the analysis of all samples collected during the 14th test on the entire population.
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The test will run from 08:00 on Saturday to 19:00 on Sunday, Director of Education and Youth Development Services Lou Pak Sang told a press conference. If the test does not detect new infections, Macau will enter a “period of stability,” during which residents will no longer have to perform daily antigen tests and upload the result to an online platform, the Health Bureau director said.
After this ”period of stability”, which will last a week, the region can return to normalcy, Alvis Lo Iek Long stressed. The New Coronavirus Contingency Coordination Center revealed today that two new cases were detected on Thursday. Both infections were reported in medical observation hotels, said the Health Services director, who said there was “a reduced risk of transmission.
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Alvis Lo stressed that Macau has not registered any new cases among the local community for six consecutive days.
The territory, which had recorded about 80 cases since January 2020, was hit in June by the worst outbreak faced since the start of the pandemic, which infected 1,821 people, mostly asymptomatic cases, and caused six deaths, all elderly people with chronic illnesses.
