Macau on Monday closed all its casinos for the first time in more than two years, following an outbreak of the coronavirus at the world’s biggest gambling centre. Authorities have ordered the closure of non-essential businesses for a week, including more than 30 casinos.
According to official figures, 1,526 Covid cases have been registered since mid-June. Gaming stocks fell on Monday on concerns about tighter regulations in the Chinese Special Administrative Region.
Nearly 19,000 people have been placed in mandatory quarantine as the city has dealt with its worst Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020. Schools and entertainment venues, including bars and cinemas, were already closed under the earlier guidelines.
More than 90% of Macau residents have received two doses of the COVID vaccine. It’s not clear how many people have received their booster doses, but the city is facing the fast-spreading Omicron version for the first time.
In recent weeks, authorities have set up a makeshift hospital and converted several casino resorts into medical facilities, as the former Portuguese colony has only one public hospital that serves more than 600,000 residents.
They have tested residents extensively and closed down apartment buildings and hotels where infections were found.
Macau follows China’s strict “zero COVID” strategy, where even a handful of cases have led to mass testing, forced quarantines, and lockdowns in neighbourhoods and cities.
While Macau has not implemented the type of city-wide lockdown in mainland China, it is almost closed as most services have been halted.
“Because mainland Chinese tourists accounted for 71% of all tourists and more than 90% of gross gaming revenue, they have to follow mainland China’s zero-Covid policy, which is highly restrictive,” he said.
Gambling is illegal in mainland China but is allowed in Macau, which like Hong Kong, is a particular administrative region of China.
Macau casino shares slipped on Monday as the restrictions kicked into effect.
Shares of Sands China, a casino giant Las Vegas Sands subsidiary, were trading 7% lower as of midday in Hong Kong. SJM Holdings, founded by the late Hong Kong tycoon Stanley Ho, fell 6.1%.