Macao to shutter casinos for a week
Casinos have now been added to a coronavirus order that closed businesses including bars, restaurants and other entertainment venues
Players looking to gamble in Macao will have to find another way to get their fix as all its casinos will close for a week starting Monday.
A COVID-19 outbreak has Macao largely restricting people to their homes.
The virus has infected more than 1,400 people in the past three weeks.
All businesses have been ordered to shut with the only exceptions being for supermarkets and essential services.
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Residents must stay home unless they fit into food, shopping or essential categories.
Macao, a semi-autonomous Chinese region like nearby Hong Kong, is following a version of China's "zero-COVID" strategy.
The Venetian Macao casino resorts in Macao. The Asian gambling center of Macao will close all its casinos for a week starting Monday, July 11, and largely restrict people to their homes as it tries to stop a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected more t ( (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) / AP Newsroom)
That involves locking down buildings that have cases and conducting repeated rounds of mass testing to find and isolate infected individuals.
Macao is facing its first sizable outbreak of the pandemic. The city of 680,000 people recorded 93 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total in the ongoing outbreak to 1,467.
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Anyone going out must wear a mask, with adults required to use an N95 or equivalent one.
Croupiers stand at a Sic Bo gaming table inside a casino at the Sands Cotai Central in Macao. ((AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) / AP Newsroom)
The measures, announced Saturday, expand on restrictions that have been in place since June 23.
The casinos now join an earlier order that closed hair salons, gyms, cinemas, bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues and banned dining in restaurants, limiting them to takeout or delivery.
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Entering 2022, six licensed operators run 42 casinos in Macao, including Sands China, SJM Holdings, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment Group, MGM China Holdings and Melco Crown Entertainment.
The Venetian Macao casino resorts stand at Cotai Strip in Macao. ((AP Photo/Kin Cheung / AP Newsroom)
Macao's economy is heavily dependent on its casinos and related businesses.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.