Macau casinos close amenities amid new Covid-19 outbreak

The government announced programme of mass-testing in the city on Sunday, with the results expected by Tuesday. Most services, including banks, schools and most business are closed, although the casinos themselves remain open.

Macau maintains a “covid-zero” approach to the virus, with the latest outbreak the first in months.

While individual policies differ depending on the concessionaire, in general, all amenities and restaurants are closed across each of Macau’s six concessionaires, with some exceptions for takeaway and in-room dining.

The news is a blow to the sector which is heavily dependent on in-person tourism, with gross gambling revenue almost certain to take a hit. Shares for each of the six concessionaires have tumbled following the news, facing blows from between 4-8%.

Macau has struggled to recover to economic levels before the pandemic – with the GDP of the gambling-centric city less than half that of 2019. The government is set to pass a new set of gambling reforms, in part to help boost the sector.