Anyone banking on Macau to ease its pandemic policies anytime soon will be disappointed after Ho reiterated the city’s commitment to its current measures while speaking at a reception celebrating International Women’s Day.

The gambling hub’s government would “persist with the anti-epidemic policies adopted by the country,” remarked Ho, as stated by Macau’s Government Information Bureau.

Covid developments in neighbouring areas were being closely monitored, as well as economic challenges facing the city, he added, but explained that Macau’s “epidemic prevention and control work had achieved effective results” and the government’s “top priority was to protect the health and lives of the people in Macau.”

When questioned about Macau’s vaccination efforts, Ho said he and all top officials had each received a booster jab.

“The government aimed to encourage vaccination, but had never adopted any mandatory measures regarding Covid-19 vaccination.

“To protect the city’s children, the government had the responsibility to encourage parents in Macau to get their children vaccinated against the disease,” he remarked, adding: “The government had the obligation to promote to the community the importance of getting vaccinated against Covid-19.”

The Chief Executive went on to discuss the Omicron variant, stating that it is “highly contagious” and as a result, some hotels are no longer suitable for medical observation purposes.

However, he did say that, after “cautious evaluation”, Treasure Hotel had been designated as a quarantine facility for people considered to be at high risk of having contracted Covid.

Ho commented: “The government continues to monitor closely the risk of infection at local hotels used as medical observation facilities, and has increased the use of robots to provide essential necessities to those observing quarantine, in a bid to lower the risk for people working in these hotels.”