The Cambodian casino town of Sihanoukville has entered an indefinite lockdown, with borders closed, due to a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases.
According to the Cambodian Daily, the ban announced by the Preah Sihanouk Province Hall on March 5 will see travel in and out of Sihanoukville halted indefinitely.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Health reported 18 new cases of Covid-19 in Sihanoukville on February 26, all linked to a hotel quarantine breach in Phnom Penh the week before. In less than three days, the city’s cluster grew to 95 people.
Among 32 locations in Sihanoukville listed as Covid-19 hotspots are “a number of hotels and casinos,” the newspaper reported.
The travel ban will “allow the provincial administration to be able to put the infection cases under control as well as look for people who have been in contact with the patients and the hotspots,” said a statement from the Province Hall.
Cambodia had largely kept the global Covid-19 pandemic at bay in 2020, with just 378 confirmed cases for the entire year. That number more than doubled in two weeks, with 477 cases linked to this new cluster. The surge is said to have started when four Chinese nationals bribed their way out of a quarantine hotel on 20 February and visited a series of nightclubs.
The rapid spread caused the Phnom Penh integrated resort NagaWorld to suspend operations after 11 staff members tested positive.
The Khmer Times reported that authorities in Kandal Province stopped 723 visitors and staff from leaving the Yong Yuan casino and placed them in quarantine after a guest linked to the February 20 event tested positive.
“Local authorities are on guard at this casino to ensure safety and did not allow anyone to exit the casino as it is under lockdown during the 14 days quarantine period,” said Kandal Governor Kong Sophorn.
According to Union Gaming, Cambodia is seeking to establish a travel bubble with China, Japan and South Korea, which would boost international tourism and further NagaCorp’s recovery. NagaCorp recently posted a net profit for 2020 of $102.3 million, a surprisingly robust performance given a three-month closure and borders closed to international travel.
In a note, analyst John DeCree said the recovery was driven by the premium mass segment, which contributed 37 percent of total mass table gross gambling revenue in the second half and 30 percent in the first half prior to the pandemic.
“The large expat community in Phnom Penh continues to be the key customer demographic in the recovery, though there have been some improvements in international play mostly from business travelers, with about 40 direct international flights now arriving in Cambodia,” he wrote.
And according to NagaCorp, “the rollout of vaccination and eventually the anticipated gradual border reopening throughout Asia may most likely further improve the economy and tourism sector of Cambodia, which is expected to contribute positively to the group’s business.”
It’s continuing its project in Russia’s Primorye gaming zone, which has been under development since 2016 and should open sometime next year.
