Stephanie Lai | 29/04/2013
Health Bureau and tourism sector in full-alert as H7N9 bird ‘flu reaches southern China
Thermal infrared detectors will begin operating this morning in all of Macau’s border crossings, the Health Bureau announced, as the first case of H7N9 bird ‘flu was detected in Fujian province.
So far there has been no confirmed case of H7N9 infection in the territory. The bureau said two suspected cases turned out to be negative.
Up to yesterday mainland China had registered 122 people infected with the H7N9 virus, 24 of which died. On Wednesday Taiwan also reported the first avian ‘flu infection case.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on health officials and residents to remain vigilant against the bird ‘flu, as the number of infections rose over the weekend.
“We need to stay on high alert as this is a new virus, and we don’t have all the information,” Mr Li said yesterday during a visit to the mainland’s disease control agency in Beijing, according to a report posted on China National Radio’s website.
Over the weekend Jiangxi, Fujian and Hunan provinces have each reported their first case of the avian ‘flu.
Fujian is Macau’s second-largest visitor market in the mainland, accounting for 177,434 tourists in the first quarter.
Yesterday a chicken was found to be infected with a virus of the H7 strain in a Dongguan poultry wholesale market, Guangdong province, after a spot-check session.
The market was immediately ordered to suspend business and conduct a full-scale sanitisation.
Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau told Business Daily that it is closely checking the Dongguan case at the moment, even though Macau imports no poultry from the city.
Authorities are still trying to confirm if the chicken was infected with the H7N9 subtype, in what could be the first such case in neighbouring Guangdong province.
So far there has been no confirmed case of H7N9 infection in the territory. The bureau said two suspected cases turned out to be negative.
Up to yesterday mainland China had registered 122 people infected with the H7N9 virus, 24 of which died. On Wednesday Taiwan also reported the first avian ‘flu infection case.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on health officials and residents to remain vigilant against the bird ‘flu, as the number of infections rose over the weekend.
“We need to stay on high alert as this is a new virus, and we don’t have all the information,” Mr Li said yesterday during a visit to the mainland’s disease control agency in Beijing, according to a report posted on China National Radio’s website.
Over the weekend Jiangxi, Fujian and Hunan provinces have each reported their first case of the avian ‘flu.
Fujian is Macau’s second-largest visitor market in the mainland, accounting for 177,434 tourists in the first quarter.
Yesterday a chicken was found to be infected with a virus of the H7 strain in a Dongguan poultry wholesale market, Guangdong province, after a spot-check session.
The market was immediately ordered to suspend business and conduct a full-scale sanitisation.
Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau told Business Daily that it is closely checking the Dongguan case at the moment, even though Macau imports no poultry from the city.
Authorities are still trying to confirm if the chicken was infected with the H7N9 subtype, in what could be the first such case in neighbouring Guangdong province.
Soft impact
The city is expecting a larger flow of mainland tourists starting today as China enters the three-day May 1 vacation.
“For sure we will reinforce the cleaning and sanitising work inside hotels,” Chan Chi Kit, president of Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, told Business Daily.
“But we are not intending to set fever screening at hotel lobbies because immigration checkpoints are already doing it,” Mr Chan added.
“To add one extra fever sensor at the lobby would make visitors feel too tense.”
The authorities have asked the tourism and hotel sectors to remind visitors to keep good personal hygiene, noted Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Macau Travel Industry Council.
“But it has not gotten to a point where mainland tour groups are giving the tourists sanitising hand gel, which was the case at the time of SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2002-2003],” Mr Wu told Business Daily.
Air Macau told Business Daily that it did not notice any impact from the outbreak on its bookings.
But it has affected mainland tour groups, Mr Wu said.
“There will be less tour groups travelling to Hong Kong and Macau during the Labour Day vacation,” he predicted.
The May 1 holidays is “the weakest golden week in the year,” says Mr Wu, mainly because it is shorter than the Lunar New Year or the National Day holidays.
Hotel room rates for the Labour Day vacation will be similar to a regular weekend rate, Mr Wu and Mr Chan said.
“Our occupancy has been doing pretty well in the previous weeks,” said Mr Chan. http://www.macaubusinessdaily.com/Society/Border-checks-widen-avian-%E2%80%98flu-spreads-south
“For sure we will reinforce the cleaning and sanitising work inside hotels,” Chan Chi Kit, president of Macau Hoteliers & Innkeepers Association, told Business Daily.
“But we are not intending to set fever screening at hotel lobbies because immigration checkpoints are already doing it,” Mr Chan added.
“To add one extra fever sensor at the lobby would make visitors feel too tense.”
The authorities have asked the tourism and hotel sectors to remind visitors to keep good personal hygiene, noted Andy Wu Keng Kuong, president of the Macau Travel Industry Council.
“But it has not gotten to a point where mainland tour groups are giving the tourists sanitising hand gel, which was the case at the time of SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2002-2003],” Mr Wu told Business Daily.
Air Macau told Business Daily that it did not notice any impact from the outbreak on its bookings.
But it has affected mainland tour groups, Mr Wu said.
“There will be less tour groups travelling to Hong Kong and Macau during the Labour Day vacation,” he predicted.
The May 1 holidays is “the weakest golden week in the year,” says Mr Wu, mainly because it is shorter than the Lunar New Year or the National Day holidays.
Hotel room rates for the Labour Day vacation will be similar to a regular weekend rate, Mr Wu and Mr Chan said.
“Our occupancy has been doing pretty well in the previous weeks,” said Mr Chan. http://www.macaubusinessdaily.com/Society/Border-checks-widen-avian-%E2%80%98flu-spreads-south
