Macau’s six casino concessionaires have issued “almost identical edicts” on Covid prevention measures for employees, reports Inside Asian Gaming. Workers must be vaccinated against Covid-19 or else be tested for the virus every seven days. Those who don’t comply cannot work.
IAG obtained an internal memo stating, “Team members who cannot present ‘Negative Nucleic Acid Test Result’ are prohibited to work and will be considered as unjustified absence with disciplinary action in place, unless Team Members applied for their own leave in advance and were approved by their department.”
The memo also said unvaccinated staff must pay for their own weekly Covid-19 tests. Anyone who’s received a first vaccine dose must receive a second within 30 days or be required to resume regular testing.
The measures are the latest effort by Macau’s concessionaires to help accelerate the rate of vaccination in Macau, which continues to lag at around 59 percent. The Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre stated last week it would only consider dropping its zero-tolerance Covid policy once vaccination rates have reached at least 80 percent.
All six concessionaires have previously run vaccination drives aimed at encouraging staff to be vaccinated, but this is the first time they have effectively mandated it.
They are not alone, however. Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands (MBS) announced recently that 97 percent of its staff are now vaccinated. Solaire Resort & Casino in Manila has vaccinated all its rostered staff. And Australia’s Crown Resorts is introducing a mandatory vaccination policy applicable to all staff and guests.
Both MBS and Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore have introduced new restrictions preventing anyone who is not fully vaccinated from entering their facilities, including gaming areas. Singapore has seen a spike in Covid-19 cases since easing restrictions in early September, part of the country’s Covid-19 recovery plan. The eased restrictions were introduced after Singapore reached an 80 percent vaccination rate.
The Philippine government has confirmed that the alert level status of Metro Manila was downgraded from Alert Level 4 to Alert Level 3 on October 16, with casinos among the businesses allowed to reopen at 30 capacity.
