HONG KONG: Macao will reopen public services and entertainment facilities, and permit dining-in at dining places from Tuesday (Aug 2), authorities mentioned, as the world’s greatest gambling hub seeks a return to normalcy after finding no COVID-19 cases just for nine straight days.
Beauty salons, fitness centres, and bars as well will be allowed to continue operations, the government stated in a statement upon Monday.
Health authorities will require residents to wear masks when they go out and must show a negative coronavirus test within three days to enter most venues.
“There have been simply no community infection cases in Macao pertaining to nine consecutive days… and the risk from the spread of the coronavirus has been greatly reduced, inch it said.
The former Portuguese nest has reported about 1, 800 bacterial infections since mid-June when it was hit using its worst coronavirus outbreak that forced the particular closure of internet casinos and locked down most of the city.
Macao reopened its casinos on Jul 23, as specialists began unwinding strict measures which required most businesses plus premises to close.
This is the first time Macao has had in order to grapple with the fast spreading Omicron variant.
More than ninety per cent of Macao’s residents are completely vaccinated against COVID-19 but authorities have got closely followed China’s zero-COVID mandate which usually seeks to suppress all outbreaks with almost any cost, unlike the rest of the world which is already living with the virus.
The city just has one general public hospital which was currently overburdened even before the pandemic.
Whilst Macao’s casinos are open, there is probably no business intended for at least a few weeks, analysts said, due to rigid restrictions still in position.
Sands Tiongkok, Wynn Macau, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings and Melco Resorts would be the current six online casino licence holders in Macao. Their licences will expire right at the end of the year.
They are soaking up loss as they prepare to bid for new licences in a business that generated US$36 billion dollars in revenue within 2019, the last year before COVID-19 curbs reprehended the sector.