Macau’s determination to keep her casinos running despite the pandemic has fallen through as the city continues to struggle with her worst-ever Covid-19 outbreak.
Casinos were last shut in February 2020 for 15 days, but have so far been allowed to remain open to ensure job security in an industry that generates more than 80 per cent of government income.
An exception was made recently when Grand Lisboa was ordered to close from July 5 to 11 due to an infection cluster.
More than 30 casinos and other businesses will shut for one week, with effect July 11, and people are only allowed to make quick trips out of their homes for essentials.
Macau has recorded around 1,500 infections since mid-June, and some 19,000 people are in mandatory quarantine. More than 30 zones in the city that have been deemed high risk are now under lockdown, even as city authorities maintain it is not imposing a citywide lockdown.
