Background The novel coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) caused over 1.7 million confirmed cases and cumulative mortality up to over 110,000 deaths worldwide as of 14 April 2020. A total of 57 Macao citizens were obligated to stay in Hubei province, China, where the highest COVID-19 prevalence was noted in the country and a “lockdown” policy was implemented for outbreak control for more than one month. They were escorted from Wuhan City to Macao via a chartered airplane organized by Macao SAR government and received quarantine for 14 days with none of the individual being diagnosed with COVID-19 by serial RNA tests from the nasopharyngeal specimens and sera antibodies. It was crucial to identify common characteristics among these 57 uninfected individuals. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted to extract information such as behavior, change of habits and preventive measures. Results A total of 42 effective questionnaires were analyzed after exclusion of 14 infants and children with age under fifteen as ineligible for the survey and missing of one questionnaire, with a response rate of 97.7% (42 out of 43). The proportion of female composed more than 70% of this group of returners. The main reason for visiting Hubei in 88.1% of respondents was to visit relatives. Over 88% of respondents did not participate in high-risk activities due to mobility restriction. All (100%) denied contact with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. Comparison of personal hygiene habits before and during disease outbreak showed a significant increase in practice including wearing a mask when outdoor (16.7% and 95.2%, P < 0.001) and often wash hands with soap or liquid soap (85.7% and 100%, P = 0.031).
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, lockdown, Social distance, prevention, Mask, Behavior, mandatory quarantine, handwashing, Traffic ban, 【초록키워드】 antibodies, quarantine, children, novel coronavirus disease, RNA, Infant, Prevalence, China, Characteristics, outbreak, sera, Wuhan, female, death, age, preventive measures, SAR, information, disease, questionnaire, Contact, COVID-19 cases, hygiene, Government, confirmed case, significant increase, city, exclusion, nasopharyngeal specimen, over, cumulative mortality, uninfected, country, effective, Result, highest, analyzed, identify, caused, proportion, composed, conducted, individuals, diagnosed with COVID-19, hands with soap, high-risk activity, ineligible, organized, 【제목키워드】 China, SAR, cross-sectional survey, preventive measure, uninfected,