Two Macau casino operators have reported the sort of high Covid-19 vaccination rates among their staff that the city’s leader has said are necessary across Macau, before cross-border travel rules can eventually be eased.
Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd said in a Thursday press release that close to 82 percent of its staff were now vaccinated. The announcement did not clarify if they had all received two jabs in order to complete the process.
The same day, Macau casino licensee Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd said it had achieved “over 75 percent full vaccination rate” for colleagues in Macau and Hong Kong as part of its ‘Get the Jab’ programme.
In May, Melco Resorts said it would give MOP1,000 (US$125) to each of its Macau staff that got vaccinated against Covid-19.
On September 29, Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, said reaching “80 percent” vaccination among the city’s population, would make it “easier” for the local authorities to negotiate the resumption of inbound package tours from mainland China, and e-visa applications with the mainland authorities.
China is the only place currently to have a mostly quarantine-free travel arrangement with Macau.
According to the Thursday press conference of Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre, a total of 437,869 people in Macau had been vaccinated as of 4pm on October 21, of which 102,766 people have only received a first dose.
That meant approximately 49.1 percent of the city’s population had been fully vaccinated as of that date. Macau had a population of 682,500 as of June 30, according to data from the city’s Statistics and Census Service.
Galaxy Entertainment said in its Thursday press release: “Since the launch of the Macau SAR Government’s vaccination programme, Galaxy Entertainment Group has held different promotional activities and initiatives to help its team members obtain information about the vaccination programme and bookings, as well as to motivate them to get vaccinated, including the two-time set-up of a vaccination point at Galaxy Macau.”
Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, chairman and chief executive of Melco Resorts, was cited in its Thursday announcement as saying regarding the 75 percent vaccination rate among the group’s staff: “I am grateful that our colleagues are taking this important step towards protecting themselves and the community and for helping us turn the page to a better, brighter tomorrow as we prepare to welcome visitors back to the city.”
