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Saturday, May 31, 2025
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Race to beat storm proves testy in Macau
Macau residents waited in long queues to get PCR tests in a city-wide program to flush out silent carriers during the No 3 typhoon signal hoisted yesterday.
That came as the "Vegas of the East" saw five cases from Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Portugal.
The city-wide test began at 7am and is scheduled to end at 11am today to flush out silent carriers.
Long queues of more than 100 people appeared outside some testing sites starting around 10am. Some students also went to the sites early in the morning before going to school.
Residents hit out at the abruptness of the announcement and short notification period, as it was only made in the afternoon.
A father, Lau, said he failed to book a polymerase chain reaction test Monday and was forced to wait in line.
Classes for students, he said, should have been suspended during the testing.
Some also said they came early for tests for fear of rain later in the day.
"There could be heavy rains and bigger crowds during off-duty hours in the afternoon," one said. "The government's arrangement is unsatisfactory this time as it affected people going to school and work."
The government said in the afternoon people should get tested as soon as possible due to the No 3 typhoon signal.
The testing station at Sam Ka was also closed due to the weather.
That came as the mainland saw 2,719 infections, including 700 from Guangdong.
Guangzhou, which saw 479 cases, is requiring all commuters on flights, trains and coaches to present a 48-hour negative PCR test result.
It said the city is facing pressure from imported cases amid a local rebound and finding it hard to conduct contact tracing as some patients have visited hospitals, schools and malls.
Meanwhile, Foxconn is quadrupling bonuses to 400 yuan (HK$432) a day to entice staff at its Covid-hit iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan, to work, after thousands were seen fleeing the factory on foot. They get a 15,000 yuan bonus for full attendance this month.
Hong Kong yesterday saw 4,418 cases - 3,981 local and 437 imported - as well as 13 deaths.
Authorities received 752 reports of positive tests from 442 schools and 12 such reports from two care homes and four disabled homes.
The city-wide test began at 7am and is scheduled to end at 11am today to flush out silent carriers.
Long queues of more than 100 people appeared outside some testing sites starting around 10am. Some students also went to the sites early in the morning before going to school.
Residents hit out at the abruptness of the announcement and short notification period, as it was only made in the afternoon.
A father, Lau, said he failed to book a polymerase chain reaction test Monday and was forced to wait in line.
Classes for students, he said, should have been suspended during the testing.
Some also said they came early for tests for fear of rain later in the day.
"There could be heavy rains and bigger crowds during off-duty hours in the afternoon," one said. "The government's arrangement is unsatisfactory this time as it affected people going to school and work."
The government said in the afternoon people should get tested as soon as possible due to the No 3 typhoon signal.
The testing station at Sam Ka was also closed due to the weather.
That came as the mainland saw 2,719 infections, including 700 from Guangdong.
Guangzhou, which saw 479 cases, is requiring all commuters on flights, trains and coaches to present a 48-hour negative PCR test result.
It said the city is facing pressure from imported cases amid a local rebound and finding it hard to conduct contact tracing as some patients have visited hospitals, schools and malls.
Meanwhile, Foxconn is quadrupling bonuses to 400 yuan (HK$432) a day to entice staff at its Covid-hit iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, Henan, to work, after thousands were seen fleeing the factory on foot. They get a 15,000 yuan bonus for full attendance this month.
Hong Kong yesterday saw 4,418 cases - 3,981 local and 437 imported - as well as 13 deaths.
Authorities received 752 reports of positive tests from 442 schools and 12 such reports from two care homes and four disabled homes.
