GGRAsia – Macau police, ops discuss casino security post-Covid-19

Macau police, ops discuss casino security post-Covid-19

May 20, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Officials from the Macau Judiciary Police met on Tuesday with representatives from the respective security departments of the city’s six casino operators. The meeting aimed to discuss the current security situation at gaming floors and hotels amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

The meeting was also to update the authorities about work being done by the gaming companies in order to prepare for an expected increase in the number of customers once the health crisis is controlled, according to a Tuesday press release.

The statement said that during the meeting with the casino operators’ representatives (pictured), police officials discussed the strengthening of security measures at gaming floors and hotels, including the implementation of enhanced response plans and the need to improve the existing communication mechanism between operators and the local authorities. That was in order to respond effectively to any incident that might arise once normal visitor traffic flow to Macau resumes.

Commentary by many investment analysts regarding Macau has focused on the idea of normalisation of travel from mainland China, the biggest single feeder market for gamblers for Macau’s casinos. Analysts have also suggested that the third annual session of China’s 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) starting on Friday might bring some “positive announcements” regarding travel restrictions to Macau.

In the past week there have been signs that Guangdong province, an important tourism feeder market next door to Macau, as well as Macau’s neighbouring Chinese special administrative region, Hong Kong, are planning cautious and incremental steps on travel improvements.

The Macau health authorities said on Tuesday that the city’s last Covid-19 patient had been discharged from hospital care that day. As of Tuesday, Macau had reported no new Covid-19 case for 41 consecutive days.

In Tuesday’s release, the Judiciary Police said it would continue to closely monitor the security plans of the city’s casino operators, as well as to provide training to the security staff of these companies.

The authorities also urged the companies to review their response plans to emergency situations, as the typhoon season approaches Macau. The police advised operators to take the “necessary measures” in order to ensure they were able to react quickly in case of any emergency, and to assess their respective ability to coordinate with local authorities the handling of typhoon-related emergencies.