Macau in shutdown mode, save for casinos
Top News| Wallis Wang 24 Jun 2022
Macau closed most public premises including cinemas, bars, gyms and hair salons from 5pm yesterday - but casinos remain open amid an outbreak.Restaurant dine-in services were also suspended as Macau yesterday recorded 39 more Covid cases, taking the tally to 110 since the outbreak started last weekend.
Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said the virus spreading is the Omicron BA51 subvariant, which is also spreading in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is different from the subvariants, including Omicron BA2, in the mainland.
Ho said authorities will step up contact tracing, including conducting tests on frozen food imported from overseas.
"The pandemic situation is more complex and severe than ever before. The government will continuously assess the risk of the outbreak and adopt a series of measures," Ho said.
"But I have to stress that the current pandemic situation is still under control."
Various public premises - including cinemas, gaming centers, gyms, swimming pools, beauty parlors, bars, karaoke and hair salons - were closed yesterday, but Ho said casinos will remain open.
The government closed casinos during outbreaks in 2020 as there were no testing methods but Macau is now able to conduct mass testing schemes.
"We will only close casinos with outbreaks as the government will not adopt a one-size-fits-all approach," he said.
Ho said Macau cannot "live with the virus" as cross-border travel with the mainland must be resumed for the city's economic recovery.
"We need travelers from the mainland, but who would come if they have to be quarantined for 14 days after returning to the mainland? If we give up the mainland market, how many foreign visitors would come?" Ho said. "Frankly speaking, it's the easiest way for the government to 'live with the virus' as we only need to spend money on treatment."
Macau started its second round of mass PCR testing yesterday morning and it ends tonight.
Long queues were seen outside testing stations, with the Mong-Ha Sports Centre seeing more than 300 people waiting outside at 9am yesterday.
Of Macau's 110 cases, 78 are asymptomatic.
One of the cases was a medical worker responsible for collecting samples at Hospital Centre S Januario. It is unsure whether the worker was infected at the hospital, authorities said. They added the makeshift hospital at the Macao East Asian Games Dome will receive patients starting at 6am today.
Hong Kong, meanwhile, yesterday recorded 1,650 cases - 1,522 local and 128 imported.
An 80-year-old man with high blood pressure and heart disease died, taking the death toll to 9,185.
Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease branch, said 38 carried the Omicron BA2121 subvariant, including 25 who visited Victoria Harbour Restaurant at Chelsea Heights Plaza in Tuen Mun.
The cluster has recorded 27 cases so far, including 26 diners and one diner's family member. All infected diners visited the restaurant at around 6pm on June 16.
Five of the BA2121 cases were from unknown sources and live in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Ma On Shan.
Authorities also recorded 172 cases from 155 schools, involving 135 students and 37 staff, Chuang said.
Four elderly care homes each recorded one case.
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