As Macau slowly comes back from what has been its worst-ever Covid-19 outbreak yet, the city’s gaming industry is showing early signs of recovery. The latest data shows average daily gaming increased to MOP36 million (US$4.5 million) last week, according to channel checks carried out by brokerage Sanford C. Bernstein.
During the period between August 1 and August 7, local casinos generated a total of MOP250 million ($30.9 million). The latest numbers show an early sign of recovery for the gaming hub, after the city’s gross gaming revenue fell 95% to 398 million patacas ($49 million) in July, 98% lower than pre-pandemic levels, representing the worst month ever since records began in 2009.
Macau’s casinos reopened on July 23, after a nearly two-week shutdown mandated in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19. Due to its reliance on Chinese tourists, and its adherence to a Covid-zero strategy, the city has faced many challenges as of late. However, the month of August seems to be showing promise for the gaming hub as restrictions eased.
Average daily travel in/out of Macau had recovered gradually to some 6,400 last week, a 771% jump when compared to 734 the previous week. As the worst community outbreak in the city was brought under control, daily visitation gradually approached some 20,000 since August 3, a recovery that could now be again hampered by a new set of border policies, as reported by Macau Business.
Health authorities for neighboring Zhuhai have announced that starting Friday, all Macau arrivals coming from the land port are only allowed to enter and exit through the port once respectively per day, with the pandemic prevention measure tentatively scheduled to be maintained for one month, the cited source says.
Additionally, people entering Zhuhai from Macau will need to show a negative nucleic test result no older than 24 hours and inform community representatives in the location where they will stay of their travel history. Over the weekend, Macau’s government ordered all residents to undergo two days of Covid-19 testing after a person who traveled to Zhuhai tested positive for the virus.
