Macau casino hotel Grand Lisboa is no longer earmarked for special attention as a risk for spreading Covid-19, 10 days after restrictions were imposed. The step initially required more than 500 people to remain on site as a Covid-19 countermeasure.
The change was on Thursday, when a ‘yellow’ – or cautionary – status was lifted, according to a social media post by the property, and a Macau Health Bureau update.
On July 5, the venue – promoted by SJM Holdings Ltd – had been placed under a ‘red’ status after a cluster of 13 Covid-19 cases among people linked to the property. The ‘red’ status meant no staff or hotel guests on site could leave.
On Monday (July 11) the property had been downgraded to ‘yellow’, meaning people from the building could already leave, but were still subject to regular Covid-19 tests until the authorities were satisfied that no fresh infection cases associated with the site, had occured. That is part of the health bureau’s protocols.
“Grand Lisboa Hotel has been relieved from the yellow zone from July 14, and underwent thorough cleaning and disinfection,” Grand Lisboa said in its Thursday social media update.
The casino operation within the property remained suspended, as a citywide week-long closure of non-essential business venues – including casinos – was due to run until July 18.
Up to midnight on Thursday, Macau had recorded 31 new infection cases in the prior 24 hours, taking to 1,675 the total since the authorities started recording the current community outbreak, on June 18.
The daily increase has been lower this week than last week, coinciding with the citywide restriction on movement other than buying of groceries and other necessities.
Five people – all elderly and with pre-existing health problems – have died in Macau’s worst community outbreak since the start of the pandemic crisis in early 2020.
