The number of new Covid-19 infections from Guangzhou City, China have decreased, but the government of Macau is not letting down its guard. Authorities in the SAR continue to maintain strict health and safety policies, including quarantines and mandatory mask-wearing.
Guangzhou City, the capital of Guangdong Province, has reported 146 cases of the virus since late May, according to Inside Asian Gaming. Several parts of the city have been in lockdown during that time, and those who travel to Macau must submit to mandatory quarantines.
The Macao Government Tourism Office also requires that staff and guests at Macau hotels and casino resorts wear masks, undergo temperature checks and provide a Macao Health Code.
Guangzhou infections were expected to drop to zero by this week, but Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre warned residents to keep up on its progress.
The Delta variant of Covid-19 “has a strong capability of transmission,” health officials said last week, “so we cannot guarantee that Macau will not have any possible infections.”
Although vaccines are widely available in Macau, only 20 percent of people are estimated to be protected. Casino operators have been making a major push to encourage employees and their families to receive the shot.
Meanwhile, a travel bubble between Hong Kong and Macau may be established later this summer as the Covid threat in Hong Kong subsides, according to Bernstein Research. Hong Kong hasn’t had a local case since June 8, and a travel bubble “encompassing China/Hong Kong and Macau would be a key driver for growth,” the firm said.
According to the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong accounts for about 20 percent of Macau’s gross gambling revenue. As well as city residents, visitors from Mainland China often package the two destinations into a single vacation.
Bernstein is estimating that gross gambling revenue will be down 72 percent in June from the same month in 2019 and 30 percent lower than last year as a Covid outbreak in neighboring Guangdong, a key feeder market, has forced the reimposition of travel restrictions.
Still, it remains confident that the pace of recovery will begin to accelerate in the second half as restrictions are removed. Guangdong authorities have said they expect to be Covid-free by June 20, which should allow some of the additional testing requirements to visit Macau to be discontinued.
