MGM Cotai forced to close to due COVID case
On Sunday morning, the MGM Cotai casino in Macau was instructed by government authorities to shut its doors following the discovery of a COVID-19 case with one of the dealers.
According to reports, the COVID-19 victim is a 43-year-old female dealer who was on duty on October 26 and 27. On the morning of the shutdown, the two sons of the employee also tested positive.
Due to this occurrence, government healthcare practitioners made a rush to be present at the facility. Many reporters have been trying to get more detailed information on the case, but to no avail due to the restrictions on external bodies.
However, this is not the first reported incident in the casino in recent months. The Macau casino has already recorded three different cases in the month of October. Hence, for the past two years, it has been struggling with the disadvantages that come with having COVID cases, which amounts to a loss of expected profit for the period of time due to restrictions and temporal closure.
Macau government officials have issued statements warning against entry and exit of the facility by unauthorized persons. They also noted that all trapped people will remain in the venue until November 1.
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Everyone who was present at the premises during the shutdown will have their Macau health code turned yellow for a period of seven days and will be obliged to undergo seven tests during that time frame.
“Casinos, hotel staff and hotel guests will be quarantined in place immediately,” the Macau government said in a statement.
Unfortunately for neighbouring businesses, all hubs, restaurants, stores, gaming centres, and other publicly utilized areas linked to or within the hotel resort have also been asked to shut down with immediate effect.
In the press release issued by the government of Macau, all 700,000 of its citizens must undergo a quick antibody test for COVID every day from October 30 to November 1. Although this statement did not include whether or not the facility would be reopening soon.
Since Macau adheres to China’s “dynamic zero-COVID” policy, which strives to stop all breakouts, the special administrative area has been losing millions of dollars each month as a result of coronavirus limitations.
An MGM spokesperson said, when asked by reporters on the measures the operators intend to take in respect of the reoccurring COVID cases in the venue, that they intend to work with health organizations and other related bodies to help reduce their chances of having another similar incident occur.
“In support of pandemic prevention measures of the Macau SAR government, MGM will work closely with the Health Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and carry out all necessary preventive actions to reduce the risk of transmission,” he said.
At the moment of this writing, it has not been revealed how many people are locked down in the facility. Nonetheless, government officials have warned the general public who might have family members locked down in the venue to stay put and exercise patience until everything is resolved shortly.