Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) has called on the city’s casino operators to reduce the number of personnel working on gaming floors and enhance testing and protection procedures as the city’s first major COVID-19 outbreak continues to grow.
According to information from the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center, the number of confirmed cases linked to this latest outbreak had reached 299 as of Sunday, up from 170 on Friday. All Macau residents will also be required to undergo another round of mandatory nucleic acid testing from 9am Monday – the third round of citywide tests in the space of a week.
In response, the DICJ issued a statement on Sunday in which it said, “Gaming companies must strictly implement all epidemic prevention guidelines issued by the Health Bureau, and take various epidemic prevention measures, including [for those] entering the venue to check the health code, checking body temperature, strengthening cleaning and disinfection in the casino and reducing the number of personnel in the casino.
“People in the venue should maintain social distancing, wear masks and other measures.
“The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau will continue to strengthen epidemic prevention inspections in casinos and urges gaming companies to take various epidemic prevention measures through regular and special inspections to ensure the health and safety of guests and staff in the casinos.”
All casino employees will, as of Monday, be required to undertake a rapid antigen test (RAT) before every shift and a NAT every 48 hours.
Macau Health Bureau Director, Alvis Lo Iek Long, had warned on Friday that a third round of mass testing was likely.
“The number of confirmed cases in the second round of mass testing is higher than for the first round, and we believe there is still transmission of the virus in the community,” he said at the time.
Under the latest restrictions announced by the Health Bureau on Sunday, all residents have been advised to stay home with nine zones across the city now fully locked down.
There are almost 5,000 people also in quarantine, of which 3,333 are Macau residents, 881 tourists and 631 foreign workers.
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