Macau’s War on COVID Reaps Partial Success

Macau’s casinos will soon reopen as the special administrative region confirmed no new COVID-19 cases last Thursday.

Macau’s Anti-COVID Measures Worked

Last Friday, the government of Macau announced that it had identified no new cases of COVID among the locals on July 14. This was the first day without a new case since the outbreak, which sparked optimistic expectations about the region’s recovery. To further confirm this optimism, only five new people in hotel quarantine turned positive tests.

Macau’s government had to work hard to curb the numbers. For the past few weeks, the government has investigated tens of thousands of people in hopes of dealing with the notorious virus. According to data from July 22, the government has checked over 22,525 people. As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, this number includes 3,518 close contacts, 12,215 “non-core” close contacts, 1,340 “sub-close” contacts, 256 general contacts and 783 accompanying people.

Out of all people who tested for the virus, 1,800 have tested positive since the start of the current outbreak.

Macau’s Casinos to Reopen

As the authorities continue to work hard to get the pandemic under control, Macau’s casinos prepare to reopen. The government had enforced a full lockdown for the last week but will now allow businesses to reopen. During the so-called consolidation period, venues will only be able to work at half of their usual capacity.

To make casinos safer for future customers, the Gaming Supervision and Coordination Bureau has diligently and thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the venues. Furthermore, the Bureau said that it will make sure that the safety measures are upheld. To that end, it reminded casinos to check their customers’ green health codes and to measure their body temperatures. In addition, all gaming workers have to wear masks of KN95 or more. Lastly, casinos are to make sure that casino tables are scattered in a way that allows groups to keep a distance from one another.

The regulator vowed to continue working hard to monitor the casinos and enforce epidemic prevention measures. It said that it will continue working closely with the concessionaires that operate the casinos to make gambling safer for players.

Macau’s gambling industry has been struggling a lot for the past few months. The devastating effects of COVID-19 have brought the special administrative region’s GGR to record-low levels. Because of that, the government hopes to quickly reopen casinos and get them working while tending to player safety.