In Macau and the Legend Palace Hotel has reportedly become the latest of the city’s 121 hotel’s to temporarily close owing to a lack of bookings engendered by the recent ‘Wuhan virus’ outbreak.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the 224-room venue from Hong Kong-listed operator Macau Legend Development Limited is to now remain closed until at least February 19 while its sister Rocks Hotel has similarly shuttered all of its 72 rooms for a period that could last until the end of the month.

Coronavirus catastrophe:

First recorded in the Chinese city of Wuhan in early-December, ‘Wuhan virus’ is officially known as 2019 Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and causes pneumonia-like symptoms such as severe fevers and coughs. The highly-infectious ailment has so far killed over 900 people in China and led Macau to officially close every one of its 41 casinos for a 15-day period that began from last Tuesday.

Preliminary precaution:

According to the source, this move provoked to an immediate decline in tourist numbers and prompted SJM Holdings Limited to suspend operations at its 409-room Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16 hotel. This was followed by the 216-room Altira Macau from Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited and the 921-room trio comprised of the Conrad, Four Seasons and St Regis hotels located within Sands China Limited’s giant Sands Cotai Central development.

Official advice:

The decision to temporarily shut the Legend Palace Hotel and the Rocks Hotel, which are situated within the waterfront Fisherman’s Wharf development, was reportedly divulged by the Macao Government Tourism Office on Saturday. The authority purportedly moreover announced that it would not be ordering any hotels to close but had urged operators and guests alike to refrain from holding large-scale gatherings.

Growing group:

The list of temporarily closed Macau hotels also encompasses the Grand Harbour Hotel in addition to Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s Studio City Macau and City of Dreams Macau venues while GGRAsia reported that numerous venues are offering guests the ability to reschedule or take advantage of no-penalty refunds.

Rental relief:

Finally, Grant Bowie, Chief Executive Officer for MGM China Holdings Limited, reportedly told Inside Asian Gaming that his firm is to waive basic rents for retail tenants within its MGM Macau Grand Casino Resort and MGM Cotai Casino Resort venues for the duration of the 15-day shutdown. The executive purportedly proclaimed that he hoped that this move would ‘help alleviate their burdens so they can ride out the current hardship for a swift recovery.’

Bowie reportedly said…

“We adopt stringent measures to protect our guests and team members. At this difficult time, our thoughts are also with our retail tenants, especially the local SMEs.”