Macau’s Health Bureau says it will extend its COVID-19 testing program to cover frontline employees in the food and beverage and the public transport sectors following the completion of testing for the SAR’s 53,000 frontline casino workers.
The news follows last month’s announcement that all customer-facing casino workers, including dealers, cashiers and security guards, would be provided a free one-off COVID-19 test due to resumption of the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) for residents of Zhuhai from 12 August and Guangdong Province from 26 August. With those complete, the Bureau will now turn its attention to other key tourism sectors.
The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has also announced the launch of a promotional campaign for mainland visitors starting from Tuesday 1 September – the date upon which the first visa approvals will be granted following the resumption of IVS in Guangdong Province. All visa applications currently take seven days to approve.
The campaign is aimed at encouraging mainland visitors to stay longer in Macau and to stimulate their spending while in the city.
The promotion is a lucky draw campaign, with prizes including discounts on flight tickets and accommodation. Visitors must spend in Macau shops to acquire coupons and qualify for lucky draws.
The budget of the latest promotion is around MOP$400 million (US$50 million), which is part of a US$1.7 billion economic stimulus package recently announced.
