Macau’s 177,000 non-resident workers can now register to receive a COVID-19 vaccination under the city’s vaccination program, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Centre announced this week.
The news represents another step in the right direction for Macau’s casino operators with figures published by the Labor Bureau in August showing that around 33,500 or 30% of employees working for the six concessionaires are non-resident workers. It is hoped that the vaccination of these employees will further boost visitor confidence.
Starting from today, non-resident workers are eligible to receive one of the two vaccines currently available in Macau – the inactivated-type vaccine produced by Sinopharm or the “mRNA-based” vaccine developed by BioTech – at a cost of MOP$250. Authorities stated that Sinopharm is available immediately while the first shots of BioNTech can be issued to non-resident workers from Sunday.
Wynn Macau Ltd has already introduced an incentive for employees by offering two special vacation days to all staff members who receive both shots of the COVID-19 vaccination.
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, all team members of both Wynn Macau on the peninsula and Wynn Palace in Cotai who receive the vaccine will be provided with two days off – one day for each vaccination shot.
However, the vaccination rate within the Macau community remains low with only 22,000 people from a population of 680,000 having received their shots as of 9 March.
This may be due to some negative vaccine news in Hong Kong recently where 15 people have fallen ill after receiving vaccinations, mainly from the Chinese-produced CoronaVac but also from Sinopharm. Most of those were elderly people with pre-existing conditions.
Macau’s health authority underlined this week that Macau does not have the CoronaVac vaccine, while only 24 cases of minor adverse reactions have been reported in Macau with no serious side effects experienced so far.
The latest vaccine news comes as visitor arrivals recovered to over 26,000 per day last weekend, according to Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, who credited the end of China’s “stay in place” policy after Chinese New Year.
