Casinos will remain open for now, said MACAU CEO

The Macau SAR government has ordered most public entertainment and leisure spaces to be closed, including cinemas and KTVs, starting from midnight of August 5 until further notice, however, the measure does not cover gaming areas.
After the first cases were reported in the city last year authorities closed casinos for a 15-day period that began February 5, in the longest shutdown ever for the world’s biggest gambling hub.

After four people already inside the SAR borders were confirmed as Covid-19 cases yesterday – a family of four residing near the Kiang Wu Hospital – authorities initiated a citywide mass testing drive, urging citizens to get tested in 41 test centers starting from 9:00 am today and lasting until 9:00am of August 7.

Schools and government-run public facilities, such as museums, have also been shuttered.
Ho noted that of course, the safest would be “to close down everything” but that considering the situation in Macau this was not necessary since unlike the first cases last year, the four cases were not linked to casinos.
“It’s not a matter of double standards. In the public areas, we asked to suspend operations people are not required to wear masks. We have to consider different factors, we can’t also just ask for supermarkets to be closed,” the CE noted.
“If there are cases in casinos, of course we will advance with more restrictive measures”
Health authorities announced that since 06:00 am today (Wednesday August 4) all individuals who leave and enter Macau through the border posts with Guangdong Province must carry a negative nucleic acid test certificate, issued within the last 12 hours.
The measure has led to a run for testing centres while greatly reducing the number of visitors in the city.

Ho also admitted government the MOP130 billion estimates for the total gross gaming revenue tally in 2021 will likely have to be revised and the government budget adjusted again.

As of July gaming revenues stand at MOP57.4 billion, only about – 44 per cent of government predictions – with the local cases expected to further impact monthly results.

The Macau SAR was initially estimated to collect some MOP50 billion for full-year 2021, however, it has so far collected a total of MOP19.6 billion in gaming taxes in the first six months of this year or 39 per cent of the proposed goal.