Officials in Macau have reportedly reacted to a small outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in neighboring Guangdong Province by introducing a raft of new health measures for people visiting any of the enclave’s many hotels and casinos.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, the new rules also apply to restaurants and guesthouses and oblige all guests to wear protective face masks and undergo external temperature checks upon arrival. The source detailed that the fresh regulations were introduced after approximately 100 people recently tested positive for coronavirus in the nearby mainland Chinese cities of Foshan and Guangzhou.

Recent recovery:

Macau is home to around 40 casinos including the iconic Casino Grand Lisboa venue from SJM Holdings Limited and Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited’s $3.2 billion Studio City Macau development. The former Portuguese enclave was last year hit hard by the travel restrictions and public health safeguards brought in to help fight the coronavirus pandemic but chalked up a rise of 492.2% year-on-year in aggregated gross gaming revenues for May to a little over $5.3 billion.

Essential examination:

In announcing the new rules yesterday and the Macao Government Tourism Office reportedly explained that anyone entering the city from mainland China are to now be additionally required to supply a negative test for coronavirus conducted within the previous 48 hours. A further decree purportedly obliges Macau hotels to quarantine those who have been in certain high-risk districts of Foshan and Guangzhou for at least two weeks.

Prevention protocol:

The Macao Government Tourism Office reportedly decreed that everyone seeking to enter a public establishment must now moreover submit a Macao Health Code, which is a traffic-light system that outlines an individual’s particular travel history, contact details and potential symptoms before conferring them with a green, yellow or red designation. This arrangement was already purportedly being applied to area bars, health clubs, spas and nightclubs and sees anyone classified in the latter two categories denied entry.

Serious scrutiny:

Finally, the Macao Government Tourism Office reportedly disclosed that it will be delegating staff to work with compatriots from the Macao Health Bureau in inspecting public establishments to make sure they are adhering to the latest anti-coronavirus measures, which echo similar directives recently issued by the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Problem potential:

In giving its view on the impact of the new regulations and financial services giant JPMorgan Chase and Company reportedly declared that the revised public health policies will ‘undoubtedly weigh on demand’ and are likely to hinder the Macau casino industry’s ‘respectable sequential recovery over the past six months.’