The city’s 30-plus casinos, along with other non-essential businesses, will close for a week from Monday and people have been told to stay at home. Police would monitor the flow of people out, the government said, and severe punishments would be imposed for those who disobeyed. Hospitals, pharmacies, supermarkets and fresh food markets are some of the essential services that can remain open. Macau has recorded around 1,500 Covid-19 infections since mid-June. About 19,000 people are under 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 in or out for at least five days. While the government said it did not impose a city-wide lockdown, the strict measures mean Macau is effectively closed. Macau adheres to China’s “zero Covid” policy which aims to eradicate all outbreaks, bucking a global trend of trying to coexist with the virus. Casinos last closed in Macau in February 2020 for 15 days. The government had previously been reluctant to close casinos because of its mandate to protect jobs. The sector employs most of the population directly or indirectly and accounts for more than 80% of government revenue. Casinos owned by Sands China, Wynn Macau, SJM Holdings, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco Resorts and MGM Resorts have effectively shut down in recent weeks, with no players and minimal staff in line with government work-from-home requirements. Analysts said the suspension was likely to extend for another few weeks, with gaming revenue unlikely to recover until the end of the third or fourth quarter. “Even if the outbreak in Macau is brought under control, it will probably be a few weeks before Macau-Zhuhai lifts quarantine requirements,” said Terry Ng, an analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong. Frustration is growing over the government’s handling of the epidemic. Some residents have been queuing at testing centers, while others have had to wait in line for more than 20 hours to access health care facilities. Residents will be asked to take part in mass Covid tests four times this week as the government tries to cut chains of transmission. Residents have already been tested six times since mid-June and are expected to take rapid antigen tests daily. More than 90% of Macau’s 600,000 residents are fully vaccinated against Covid, but this is the first time the city has had to deal with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant. Authorities have added two hotels at popular casino resorts to be used as Covid medical facilities as they try to increase capacity to deal with a surge in infections.
