Two new rubella cases at StarWorld casino hotel: Macau govt
Two more people recorded as working at the StarWorld Hotel complex are confirmed to have caught rubella, a disease also known as German measles, said Macau’s Health Bureau on Thursday.
In the first 25 days of this month, a total of 16 people said by officials to be working at Macau casino resorts was confirmed to have caught rubella, according to data provided by the bureau.
Macau had an aggregate of 27 rubella cases reported citywide so far this year.
One of the new rubella cases at StarWorld (pictured) relates to a worker of Vietnamese nationality with “unclear history” of vaccination against that virus, the bureau noted in a Thursday release. The other staff member with rubella reportedly was not vaccinated against the disease, added the document.
Earlier this month, the Health Bureau had confirmed that five workers at StarWorld – a property on Macau peninsula owned and managed by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd – had been diagnosed with rubella. In addition, seven staff from City of Dreams were also confirmed to have caught rubella. The latter property is a casino resort in the Cotai district of the city, operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd.
On Wednesday, the bureau said two people recorded as working at the MGM Macau casino – part of the MGM Macau resort on Macau peninsula that is run by MGM China Holdings Ltd – had also caught rubella.
Rubella is a disease preventable by vaccination, according to 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.
The Health Bureau had previously stated that – earlier this month – it sent some of its personnel to extract blood samples from pregnant staff respectively at City of Dreams and StarWorld, to check their antibody profile for signs of immunity to rubella.
On April 16, a Macau gaming labour activist group delivered a letter to the city’s Labour Affairs Bureau to “reflect concerns” it had regarding the number of rubella infection cases reported this month among casino staff.
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