The government of Macau, which is the globe’s top gambling hub, locked down one of the city’s best-known hotels, the Grand Lisboa, on Tuesday after health officials detected over a dozen new Chinese coronavirus cases there, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The new cluster infection at the Grand Lisboa is the latest detected as part of Macau’s most recent epidemic of the Chinese coronavirus, which began on June 19. Macau is a special administrative region of China located across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. Chinese authorities sealed off one other hotel in Macau aside from the Grand Lisboa (the Fortuna) on June 21 to contain the city’s epidemic.
“At least 16 other buildings across the special Chinese administrative region are also under restrictions with no one allowed to exit or enter,” Reuters reported of Macau’s lockdown status on July 6.
“Authorities reported 146 new infections on Wednesday [July 6] taking the total to more than 1,000 cases since mid-June. More than 14,000 people are in quarantine as the city battles to contain its biggest outbreak since the pandemic began. Macau had largely been COVID [Chinese coronavirus]-free since an outbreak in October 2021,” according to the news agency. Macau has an estimated population of 667,000.
Both the Grand Lisboa and the Fortuna are hotels owned by SJM Holdings, which is an “entity created by former Macau kingpin Stanley Ho,” Reuters reported on June 21. The news agency observed at the time that the snap lockdown of the Fortuna trapped at least 700 people inside the building.
“Footage obtained by the [local Macau] broadcaster [TDM] and industry publications showed police officers in protective gear sealing the complex to prevent people from entering or leaving. Government officials were also preparing COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] tests for the hundreds of people inside,” Reuters relayed.
“SJM stands united with the entire community in this health crisis and wishes Macau a rapid recovery from the pandemic,” the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters on July 6 when asked about its choice to comply with Chinese government officials in locking down the Grand Lisboa.
Macau is directly administered by China’s central government. China’s ruling Communist Party continues to observe and enforce a strict “zero tolerance” policy toward the Chinese coronavirus. This policy necessitates city-wide lockdowns to contain new cases of the disease, even if the caseload is relatively low compared to the local populace. When Macau locked down most residences and public venues as part of its latest anti-epidemic efforts on June 19, authorities in charge of the city said they would refrain from closing the gambling hub’s casinos because their revenue is vital to the local economy.
“Although physically open, there are few patrons inside [Macau’s casinos] and only a small number of staff, with many employees asked to stay at home to comply with the government’s request,” Reuters observed on July 6.
Taxes from Macao’s casinos account for 80 percent of the city’s government revenue, meaning the special region is almost totally dependent on the gambling industry. Most Macau residents are employed either directly or indirectly by local casinos.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.