Public entrances at the MGM Cotai gaming resort were sealed on Sunday, and the front of the property cordoned off, as one worker from its casino tested ‘positive’ that day for Covid-19. People in biohazard suits could be seen in front of the MGM China Holdings Ltd property.
The case concerns a 43-year-old female casino table games dealer, who was on duty at the property between October 26 and 28, according to a Sunday announcement from Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre. The authorities said in a follow-up announcement that her two sons had also tested ‘positive’ for Covid-19.
The Macau government stated on Sunday that everyone in Macau must self-administer a Covid-19 test daily from Sunday to Tuesday (November 1) inclusive, and upload the result to an official database.
On Sunday, the city’s health authorities said their counterparts in Zhuhai, in mainland China’s Guangdong province next door to Macau, had notified them that a Macau resident – the MGM Cotai worker – had a “common trajectory” with a confirmed Covid-19 case linked to a Zhuhai shopping mall.
The MGM Cotai worker produced a ‘negative’ result via Covid-19 in tests done on October 24 and 26, respectively. But she returned a ‘positive’ result “in the early hours” of Sunday. Her infection has been classified as an “imported case”.
The Cotai property was sealed at lunchtime on Sunday, with people being prevented from either entering or leaving the complex. The Sunday session of “Oktoberfest” at MGM Cotai has been cancelled. The food and drink festival began on October 20 and had been due to end on Sunday.
“To cooperate with the Macau government’s pandemic control measures, please be informed today’s event will be cancelled,” said the property’s promoter in a Sunday announcement. “For guests who purchased tickets will be contacted for refund soon,” it added.
Macau has freshly recorded a number of Covid-19 infections, starting last week, with the authorities linking the cases to trips to the mainland side of the border, in Zhuhai. At least three infections have been linked to the an initial case reported on Wednesday.
