During the first two days of the Golden Week, which is extremely popular in Macau casinos, attendance figures were nearly 50% below average, due to severe travel restrictions imposed because of Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, which has killed hundreds of people so far.
The number of visitors to Macau decreased by 49.9 % compared to the same period last year. Government Tourism Office of Macau confirmed a total of around 100.000 visitors from Friday to Saturday 55.000 people on the first day of Chinese New Year, that is 34% less than in 2019 (85.000) and 58.000 on the second day, down by a total of 59% from last year.
So far there has been 3 confirmed cases with Corona virus in Macau, one of them at the Sands Cotai Central Sheraton, another in The Venetian Macau, and the third in Galaxy Macau. Currently all three are in hospital in stable condition.
“For the sake of privacy, we do not comment on the information we have about our guests. We will continue to work closely with the authorities. The well-being of our guests is of the utmost importance to us. We are reinforcing our existing protocols for dealing with public health issues. We encourage travelers and guests to pay close attention to the guidance provided by local authorities.” declared Sheraton.
Measures taken in Casinos for prevention
Each croupier wears a health mask, visitors temperature is carefully monitored when arriving at the casino.
Many facilities have been temporary closed, including the Club Cubic at City of Dreams and the Poker King Club in the Venetian Macau, the note saying “closed for disinfection, pending further notice“.
Macau faces an increasing risk of short-term effects. Unfortunately rising infections rates with Coronavirus have a negative impact on Macau and travel in general.
It is likely that some major events will be canceled in the following months, including gambling competitions and poker tournaments, this will result in China having lighter business results than expected.
Major casino companies have already fallen in shares, Las Vegas Sands down by about 6% and Wynn Resorts by almost 7%.
For prevention and information on (COVID-19) virus we recommend to read the Coronavirus Action Plan by the UK Department of Health and Social Care.
