Coronavirus: Portuguese workers ‘forced’ to take vacations

Most Portuguese works have returned home for the duration of the two week casino shutdown in Macau.

Macau.- Portuguese workers in Macau have been ‘forced’ to return to their homeland following the two-week shutdown of casinos and hotels in Macau, reports Lusa.

The news comes after all of Macau‘s 41 casinos closed yesterday due to the outbreak of the deadly Coronavirus.

A number of Portuguese works have said that the casinos have offered them additional vacation days if they book holidays over the next two weeks.

The offer came just days after rumours began to circulate that operators would not pay employees during the 15-day casino shutdown. 

The Macau government ordered casinos to pay workers, as required under labor laws, and to also provide accommodation for those that live outside of the city in mainland China as part of efforts to prevent the Coronavirus outbreak from spreading further.

Reports suggest that the majority of Portuguese workers in Macau have opted to return home for the shutdown period in part due to cheaper flights as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Coronavirus has so far claimed the lives of 636 people in China, including one of the first doctors to warn of the outbreak.