GGRAsia – Three more rubella cases found at StarWorld: Macau govt

Three more rubella cases found at StarWorld: Macau govt

Jun 24, 2019 Newsdesk Macau, Top of the deck

Three more staff members at StarWorld Hotel’s casino in Macau have been diagnosed with rubella, a disease also known as German measles, according to an update published by the city’s Health Bureau on Friday. It added the discovery, at the Macau peninsula flagship property of Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd, represented an instance of “collective infection”.

The three StarWorld casino staff members – all men – were all born outside Macau; one in Vietnam and the other two in mainland China. They had an “unclear history” regarding vaccination against rubella virus, said the Health Bureau. The three presented symptoms of rubella infection, in the form of moderate fever and rash, on “June 16, June 17 and June 20” respectively, the bureau noted.

Earlier this month it had been announced that a pregnant staff member at StarWorld’s casino had been diagnosed with rubella on May 31. The worker – 14 weeks pregnant at the time – reportedly was not vaccinated against the disease.

Rubella is a disease preventable by vaccination, according to the World Health Organization. Complications linked to the disease include the risk of miscarriage or foetal abnormality for women who contract it in the early stages of a pregnancy.

Cases of rubella had been detected at Starworld Hotel in April, according to previous releases from Macau’s Health Bureau. Several cases of rubella were also detected at Galaxy Entertainment’s Galaxy Macau casino resort in May.

Other local gaming properties to have confirmed cases of rubella since the start of April include MGM Macau and City of Dreams. MGM Macau, located on Macau peninsula, is run by MGM China Holdings Ltd. City of Dreams, in Cotai, is operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.

Cases of rubella were also detected at casino hotel Golden Dragon, according to the Health Bureau. The property is managed by Golden Dragon Group Co Ltd. The casino within the venue is run under the gaming rights of SJM Holdings Ltd.

A number of cases of rubella also had been confirmed at the casino within the New Orient Landmark Hotel – a property also using the SJM Holdings licence – on the Macau peninsula.

Macau had an aggregate of 59 rubella cases reported citywide between April and June, according to Friday’s release by bureau. The majority involved people working at casino properties.