Authorities in Macau halt inbound flights for 14 days

Authorities in Macau decided to halt all commercial passenger flights to Macau from January 9 to avoid a rise in new Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.

Macau.- From January 9 and for the next 14 days, inbound flights will be banned in Macau with the only exception of flights coming from mainland China.

Macau’s Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre tightened restrictions and countermeasures to reduce a possible risk associated with Covid-19 for public health in the city.

During the last few days, authorities revealed three fresh “imported” cases of Covid-19 were detected among air passengers arriving from overseas.

Stricter quarantine measures were also implemented for incoming passengers from places deemed “very high-risk” in 22 countries/regions.

Before heading to Macau, travellers from these high-risk areas must present proof of three “negative” Covid-19 nucleic acid test results within five days and at least 24 hours apart. 

According to the city’s health department, these travellers will be quarantined for 28 days after arriving in Macau.

Investment banks predict Macau’s GGR for January will reach MOP$6bn

Macau’s GGR will reach MOP$6bn in January, a decrease of 25 per cent from the same month in 2021, according to Citigroup.

However, the outlook will improve in February. Citi’s forecast for the first two months of this year could reach MOP$14.5bn, down 5 per cent year-on-year.

Bank of America Securities, another investment bank, is more optimistic about its forecast for January, forecasting total gaming revenue of MOP$7.8bn. However, it expects that the Covid-19 Omicron variant could slow down the recovery of overall gaming revenue in the coming months.

JP Morgan Securities also referred to Macau’s GGR for 2022 and stated it “won’t try to predict” the city’s overall casino revenue for this year.

Analysts said 2021 figures were under half of what they had expected a year ago and added: “frankly we feel less confident about our numbers now than a year ago”.