The last remaining quarantine measures between Macau and Guangdong Province have been removed, with all Chinese non-resident workers now allowed to enter freely with a negative COVID-19 virus test result as of Sunday 19 July.
Although Guangdong Province removed quarantine requirements on all visitors returning from Macau on 15 July, Macau had briefly continued to impose mandatory 14-day quarantine on Chinese non-resident workers who did not hold Zhuhai residential cards.
The Macau government has now eased that last line of defense on Chinese arrivals, although they must still submit a negative virus test result and show “green” health codes when crossing the borders.
The new Director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), Adriano Ho, late last week met with representatives of the six gaming concessions to ensure gaming operators are following the new restrictions implemented on casino floors. From 15 July, all guests entering casino floors must show a negative COVID-19 test result from within the past seven days and present valid “green” health codes.
The government has also arranged around 4,000 virus tests for casino employees each day, revealing a total of 4,228 people took the test on the first day of testing. There are between 50,000 and 60,000 frontline employees in Macau’s casinos.
While Macau’s borders reopened to visitors from Guangdong Province last week, the SAR did not immediately see the V-shaped recovery it is hope for with between 2,500 and 2,700 visitors entering each day over the first two days. Analysts have predicted the eased measures could over time result in Macau’s gross gaming revenue reaching up to 25% of 2019 levels.
There has, however, been a rapid increase in the number of Macau residents wanting to cross into Zhuhai. The government announced over the weekend that it will increase the maximum daily quote for COVID-19 tests for residents from 5,000 to 7,500 from Monday 20 July, with one new test venue to open on the Macau Peninsula.
Macau saw an average of 108,000 visitor arrivals per day in 2019.
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