GGRAsia – Sheraton rooms at Londoner Macao end quarantine role

Sheraton rooms at Londoner Macao end quarantine role

Jul 19, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Hotel rooms at the Sheraton Grand Macao property (pictured in file photo) are no longer available for booking under the Macau government’s quarantine programme amid the city’s response to the Covid-19 emergency. The hotel is no longer accepting bookings for medical observation purposes since July 8, according to information collated by GGRAsia.

The hotel is located at the Londoner Macao complex, operated by Sands China Ltd, a unit of United States-based casino group Las Vegas Sands Corp.

A Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) official said on Friday that the Sheraton Grand Macao had requested to end its participation in the quarantine programme from the end of this month. Speaking at a press conference to give an update on Macau’s Covid-19 situation, the official did not disclose a specific date for the property to end its role in the city’s quarantine programme.

A portion of the 4,000 hotel rooms at the Sheraton Grand Macao was being used as an optional accommodation for quarantine purposes. The hotel’s management was able to decide its pricing strategy to those inbound to Macau and choosing to stay at the property under a compulsory medical observation period before being allowed into the community.

Depending on the places where travellers were staying before arriving to Macau, the compulsory medical observation period required by the Macau health authorities can reach up to 28 days.

The Macau health authorities have divided the hotels for medical observation in the city into two categories: designated hotels, which have a fixed daily fee and are limited to Macau residents and their relatives; and optional hotels, which are available to non-Macau ID holders and where the price is determined by the property’s management.

Properties in Macau currently being used as optional quarantine venues include the Grand Coloane Resort, the Regency Art Hotel and the hotel at the Lisboeta Macau complex. The latter property opened on July 17 some of its leisure attractions to the public.

According to Friday’s press briefing, Macau had not recorded any new imported Covid-19 case over the past 12 days, and no local infections for 474 consecutive days. The city has dealt with an aggregate of 55 people infected since the start of the pandemic, of which 53 were imported cases, according to the authorities.

As of Thursday, 1,969 people remained under medical observation in Macau, either in hotels used for quarantine or in Health Bureau premises.