Macao shuts all casinos in race to curb COVID spread

HONG KONG (Reuters) — Macao shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years on Monday as authorities struggle to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak yet in the world’s biggest gambling hub.

The city’s 30-plus casinos, along with other nonessential businesses will shut for one week and people were ordered to stay at home. Police will monitor flows of people outside and stringent punishments will be imposed for those who disobey, the government said.

Hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets and fresh food markets are some of the essential services that can remain open.

Macao has recorded around 1,500 COVID-19 infections since mid-June. Around 19,000 people are in mandatory quarantine, according to government figures.

More than 30 zones in the city that have been deemed high risk are now under lockdown, meaning no one is allowed to enter or exit for at least 5 days. While the government said it was not imposing a citywide lockdown, the stringent measures mean Macao is effectively closed.

Macao adheres to China’s “zero-COVID” policy that aims to stamp out all outbreaks, running counter to a global trend of trying to coexist with the virus.

Casinos were last shut in Macao in February 2020 for 15 days.

The government had previously been hesitant to close casinos due to its mandate to protect jobs. The industry employs most of the population directly and indirectly and accounts for more than 80% of government revenues.

Casinos owned by Sands China, Wynn Macau, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Resorts, MGM Resorts, have been effectively shut for the past few weeks, with no gamblers and minimal staffing as per government requirements for people to work from home.

Analysts said it was likely that the suspension could be extended by another few weeks with a recovery in gaming revenue unlikely until the end of the third or fourth quarter.

“Even if the outbreak in Macao gets under control, it will likely be another few weeks before Macau-Zhuhai can remove quarantine requirements,” said Terry Ng, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong.

Frustration with the government’s handling of the outbreak is mounting. Some residents have got into fights at testing centers while others have had to queue for more than 20 hours to access health care facilities.

Residents will be required to take part in mass COVID-19 tests four times this week as the government attempts to cut transmission chains.

Residents have already been tested six times since mid-June and are expected to do rapid antigen tests daily.

More than 90% of Macao’s 600,000 residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but this is the first time the city has had to grapple with the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

Authorities have added two hotels in popular casino resorts to be used as COVID medical facilities as they try to increase capacity to handle the surge of infections.