Macau casinos to start asking for negative COVID-19 tests on Friday

Macau is preparing to enter a new phase of its zero-COVID policy, with public services limited and mass testing underway. The caseload increased to 572 confirmed cases as of Thursday morning, but the government is stopping short of calling an official lockdown. This doesn’t mean that things are easy. For one, casinos in Macau will now only accept patrons if they provide a negative COVID-19 test that has been taken 48 hours prior to entering the building.

This measure was announced earlier this week by the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau and it will come at the expense of the casinos which will have to pay for their employees taking tests. In addition, employees will have to pass a quick anti-gen test every time they show up to work. Once again, the bill will be picked up by the concessionaires.

Not all is bad, though, as casinos are still open despite the tight COVID-19 policies, which could signal a broader realization by authorities that complete shutdowns add to social angst as they do to economic woes. The good news is that Macau is showing some relaxation of its measures and choosing a more hands-on approach to dealing with the outbreak.

Now, anyone coming to the special administrative region will have to subject themselves to a ten-day quarantine. This is better than the 21 quarantine that was mandated previously. Visa policies remain as tight as ever, and mainlanders are not very likely to return to Macau, though. This is for mostly two reasons; one China does not want its citizens to gamble and traveling for non-essential reason is largely looked down upon.

But the fact remains, argue JP Morgan analysts DS Kim and Livy Lyu, that no matter what the relaxation, Macau is very unlikely to see any improvement to its gross gaming revenue any time soon. China’s decision to stick to the zero-COVID policy is further slowing down and suppressing results.

"There is still no clarity about when border easing for Macau will occur. In the end, these changes are needed to see a rebound for Macau business. We are positive longer term on Macau recovery," the analysts said.

While casinos are going to remain public, they are not likely to see international travelers come to play since they have to subject themselves to the 10-day quarantine period. Recovery will be slow, and only time will show what’s next for Macau. For now, anyone who wishes to visit the casino would have to present a negative.