Gaming employees have expressed their dissatisfaction with the pandemic prevention guidelines that have been set by the Health Bureau (SSM).
According to the guideline “Measure to reduce the risk of transmission in public places including casinos during the pandemic” published June 26 by the SSM, all casino employees and clients must have returned a negative nucleic acid test (NAT) within the last 48 hours, and these employees must have returned a negative rapid antigen test result the day before attending work or entering a casino.
The guidelines initially commenced the morning of June 29, which caused a large number of people to gather at NAT stations.
Cloee Chao, president of the New Macau Gaming Staff Rights Association, expressed that the due to the large number of people who sought appointments, some employees were unable to go to work because they could not make an appointment for the test.
Following the chaos, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) and gaming sectors coordinated with one another to come to appropriate arrangements in respect of these pandemic protection policies. As such, the DICJ announced the guidelines would instead start at 7 a.m. on July 1.
“Many employees complained that the government’s instructions were confusing. When [several employees] finished the NAT, the government announced that the guidelines would be delayed for three days, which made it confusing for the staff,” Chao told the Times.
According to Chao, some residents claim that the guidelines are not only detrimental to pandemic prevention, but also cause gatherings (whereby gaming employees gather at the NAT stations, the sites at which residents are also doing mass testing), leading to increased spread of the virus.
“Due to the seriousness of the pandemic, all casinos have fewer than ten gaming tables that are still running,” she added.
Chao said that casinos are considering better ways to help those employees and hope for the employees’ understanding.
Further, the DICJ will continue to strengthen pandemic prevention inspections in casinos, and is urging gaming companies to take various measures to ensure the safety of staff in the casinos.
Staff Reporter
