Macau will close all its casinos initially for two weeks after the number of confirmed cases of the deadly novel coronavirus cases rose from 8 to 10 on Tuesday.
Staff Reporter
The news desk at Macao News works diligently to bring you all the latest happenings as quickly as possible. Staff reporter duties are shared by Kenny Fong, Amanda Saxton, Sara Santos Silva and Erico Dias, working under the direction of managing editor Aidyn Fitzpatrick.
Casinos in Macau will close for two weeks to help contain the coronavirus, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng announced Tuesday. The date in which casinos will close is to be decided in the next few hours — in principle, they should close starting Wednesday.
The tenth confirmed coronavirus infection has just been announced by the Government Information Bureau.
Macau's ninth case of coronavirus infection was confirmed Tuesday morning.
All ferry services between Macau and Hong Kong were suspended from midnight Monday night, but ferries are still running between Macau’s Inner Harbour and Zhuhai’s Wanzai as well as between Macau and Shenzhen.
For the time being, the local government will not consider closing any of the city’s border checkpoints, as many non-resident workers and local residents live in Zhuhai.
Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam has announced Monday the closure of all border crossings with mainland China to shut out the coronavirus, except for the Shenzhen Bay joint checkpoint and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
Bus passengers and bank clients must wear facemasks from Monday onward, both sectors have announced.
Macau's airport recorded 115,676 passengers between January 24, Chinese New Year's Eve, and January 28, the fourth day of the CNY, a 25% decline compared with the same CNY period of 2019.
Employers to provide temporary accommodation for those who travel between Macau and Zhuhai daily and whose continued work here is considered necessary during the current novel coronavirus threat.
The Bishop of Macau Stephen Lee Bun-sang asked on Sunday that local Catholics actively carry out the preventive measures that have been placed in full cooperation with the government.
Non-resident workers who do not live in Macau should avoid crossing Macau’s borders.