GGRAsia – DICJ boosts casino inspections over new virus measures

DICJ boosts casino inspections over new virus measures

Jul 20, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Macau’s gaming regulator says it will conduct “rigorous inspections” of the city’s casinos in order to ensure that new safety precautions for anyone entering gaming venues in Macau are properly enforced. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, a body also known as DICJ, said in a Saturday release that it would hold regular meetings with the city’s six casino operators with a view to adopting what it termed “epidemic prevention measures”, in a “timely manner”.

According to the statement, the new director of DICJ, Adriano Marques Ho (pictured, second right), inspected some of the city’s casinos last week to check on the implementation of the new entry guidelines.

From July 15, “all people who intend to enter” the city’s casinos are required not only to have their body temperature measured and to display a health-declaration statement, but also to present a certificate of a “valid nucleic acid test” proving freedom from Covid-19.

The DICJ had said that the fresh requirements were intended to ensure the health and safety of casino employees and patrons. It said the measures were in compliance with the guidelines and requirements of Macau’s health authorities.

The regulator said additionally that the entry requirements should be “clearly displayed” at each entrance of the city’s gaming venues, and that enough staff should be allocated to ensure that the measures were properly implemented.

The Macau government began on July 16 the testing for Covid-19 virus for the city’s casino staff, starting with so-called front-line workers. The testing was part of the new precautionary measures, said the government.

According to the authorities, the government has capacity to test between 4,000 to 5,000 casino staff a day. An aggregate of 4,228 gaming employees was tested for Covid-19 on July 16, said health officials at a press conference on Friday.

The category of front-line worker is said to cover casino dealers, security officers, cage workers and gaming-floor waiters. Macau’s gaming industry employed more than 58,000 people at the of 2019, including more than 25,400 casinos dealers, according to official data.