A medical worker takes a swab sample from a resident for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing in Macao, south China, Aug 4, 2021. (CHEONG KAM KA / XINHUA)
HONG KONG / BEIJING – Authorities in Macao reported no new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday for the first time since mid-June, after the city's worst outbreak of the disease led to a 12-day closure of casinos.
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Cinemas, health clubs and beauty parlours remain shut in the special administrative region, with daily coronavirus tests required of the population of more than 600,000
The tally of infections since June 18 stood at 1,816, the government said in a statement, as the city grapples with the fast-spreading Omicron variant for the first time.
"No additional positive cases were reported in Macao within 24 hours yesterday," it said on its website.
Macao's casinos re-opened last week, as it began unwinding stringent measures that had shut most businesses and premises. All casinos were shut on July 11 for the first time in more than two years.
But cinemas, health clubs and beauty parlours remain shut, with daily coronavirus tests required of the population of more than 600,000. They must also stay home except for urgent tasks, such as work and shopping, the government has said.
More than 90 percent of residents in the special administrative region are fully vaccinated.
A medical worker takes a swab sample from a citizen for nucleic acid test at a testing site in Chaoyang district of Changchun, Jilin province, March 10, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
On the Chinese mainland, authorities on Tuesday reported 79 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 33 in Guangxi, 19 in Sichuan and 15 in Gansu, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.
The total number of COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals after recovery reached 222,044 on the Chinese mainland as of Tuesday
Altogether 525 local asymptomatic carriers were newly identified in 14 provincial-level regions on Tuesday.
A total of 130 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland on Tuesday, said the commission.
The total number of COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals after recovery reached 222,044 on the Chinese mainland as of Tuesday.
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Tuesday saw no new deaths from COVID-19, with the total death toll at 5,226.