Image: Reuters Berita 24 English - On Monday, Macau, the world's largest gambling hotspot , began the second day of mass COVID-19 testin...
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| Image: Reuters |
Berita 24 English - On Monday, Macau, the world's largest gambling hotspot, began the second day of mass COVID-19 testing, with banks, schools, government agencies, and other businesses closed but casinos open.
The testing of Macau's 600,000 people is set to end on Tuesday, following the discovery of dozens of locally transmitted cases over the weekend.
The Chinese-controlled former Portuguese colony follows China's "zero COVID" policy", which tries to eradicate all outbreaks at any costs, bucking a global trend of attempting to coexist with the virus.
Most people have been instructed to stay at home, restaurants have been closed for dine-in business, and border controls have been strengthened, analysts say, implying that casino revenues will be near to nothing for at least a week and possibly weeks.
The government of Macau depends on casinos for almost 80% of its revenue, with the gaming industry employing the majority of the people directly or indirectly.
Macau's chief executive, Ho Iat Seng, said in a statement on the government's website that the latest outbreak came out of nowhere and has been spreading swiftly, with the source still unclear.
The previous coronavirus epidemic in Macau occurred in October of last year. This year, an outbreak in the Chinese region of Hong Kong resulted in over 1 million confirmed infections and over 9,000 deaths, wreaking havoc on hospitals and public services.
Macau has only one public hospital, which is already overburdened on a daily basis.
Macau's legislature is expected to approve an amended gaming law this week, laying the basis for what multibillion-dollar casino operators would be needed to do in order to continue operating.
"Depending on how fast Macau is able to contain the latest outbreak, there is a possibility that the gaming law reforms and future concessions would be delayed.
Tendering procedure, "Sanford C Bernstein analyst Vitaly Umansky remarked.
