Macau COVID-19 Mass Testing Round Produces No Additional Infections

Posted on: November 7, 2022, 10:31h. 

Last updated on: November 9, 2022, 01:42h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Macau has seemingly contained the enclave’s most recent outbreak of COVID-19 infections.

Macau COVID-19 China casino gaming revenue
Pedestrians walk near Wynn Palace on Macau’s Cotai Strip on Oct. 5, 2022. Macau recently tested nearly all of its residents for COVID-19, and the testing round turned up no new additional cases. (Image: Bloomberg)

In late October, the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) government ordered each of its approximately 700K residents to undergo daily COVID-19 rapid antigen tests. The mass testing blitz ran from October 28 through November 1. The order came after eight Macau residents contracted the virus in a cluster that first emerged on October 26.

Macau says more than 660K residents adhered to the mandatory testing, and no new cases were reported through the region’s Health Code mobile application.

With the outbreak seemingly limited, Macau has eased its entry and exit procedures for people wishing to travel between the SAR and the neighboring city of Zhuhai. The Guangdong Province city is where many Macau casino workers live. The commute between the two cities typically takes less than 20 minutes.

Macau officials over the weekend announced that negative COVID-19 tests are again valid for up to 48 hours from the sample’s collection. Previously, tests were only valid for up to 24 hours from collection.

Mainlanders arriving at Macau’s border gates from anywhere else in China can present negative tests for samples collected within the previous seven days.

Border Restrictions Lifting

Macau’s casino industry, the world’s richest before the pandemic, eagerly awaits a business rebound. While most of the world has returned to a new normal where life coincides with the coronavirus, China continues to limit daily life with its “zero-COVID” policy.

Shares of three of the four US-traded gaming firms licensed to run games of fortune in Macau continue to be greatly suppressed. Compared with February 2020, Las Vegas Sands shares are down 40%, Wynn Resorts is off 43%, and each Melco Resorts share is worth 70% less today.

MGM Resorts, which generates the bulk of its annual gaming revenue in Las Vegas — something the other three operators that are invested in China cannot say — is the exception. MGM shares are slightly up from early February 2020.

But there’s a reason for optimism for Sands, Wynn, and Melco investors.

China restored its electronic visa program effective November 1. The online system allows mainlanders wishing to travel to Macau in a more expedited manner to obtain an Individual Visa Scheme (IVS) permit. Before the pandemic, nearly one in two visitors to Macau ventured to the region with an IVS visa facilitated online.

Casino Rebound Key for Economy

Macau relies almost entirely on its casinos to keep the region afloat.

Casino taxes account for more than 80 cents of each tax dollar that funds the local government. The casinos are also the region’s largest employer. And with the sprawling integrated resorts remaining rather lifeless since early 2020, overall employment in the SAR has tumbled.

Before the pandemic, Macau had one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world, at just 1.8%. Today, 5.5% of adults in Macau are without a job.

The future of Macau’s gaming industry remains unclear. It’s expected that the current six operators — SJM Resorts and Galaxy Entertainment being the two other concessionaires — will receive fresh tenders when their licenses expire at the end of the year. But eradicating VIP junket groups will likely prevent the casinos from winning anywhere near the record $45 billion they won in 2013.