Rubella cases found at Macau’s Landmark casino: govt

May 02, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  

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Macau’s Health Bureau says four people recorded as working at the Landmark casino are confirmed to have caught rubella, a disease also known as German measles.

The casino within the New Orient Landmark Hotel (pictured) on the Macau peninsula is the fourth Macau gaming property in fewer than two months to have cases of rubella confirmed by the city’s authorities.

The New Orient Landmark was previously branded as Landmark Macau. The casino within it is operated by Hong Kong-listed casino services firm Macau Legend Development Ltd. The gaming venue – also known as Pharaoh’s Palace Casino – is run under the gaming rights of casino concessionaire SJM Holdings Ltd.

The other local gaming properties to have confirmed cases of rubella were MGM Macau, City of Dreams and StarWorld Hotel. MGM Macau, located on Macau peninsula, is run by MGM China Holdings Ltd. City of Dreams, in Cotai, is operated by Melco Resorts and Entertainment Ltd. StarWorld Hotel, on Macau peninsula, is a casino resort run by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.

According to data from Macau’s Health Bureau, a total of 20 people recorded as working at Macau casino resorts was confirmed – since last month – to have caught rubella.

Macau had an aggregate of 31 rubella cases reported citywide so far this year.

All the four new rubella cases relate to workers with “unclear history” of vaccination against that virus, the bureau noted in press releases issued respectively on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Last month, the Health Bureau had confirmed that seven workers at StarWorld had been diagnosed with rubella. In addition, seven staff from City of Dreams were also confirmed to have caught the disease.

Also last month, the bureau said two people recorded as working at the MGM Macau casino had caught rubella.

Rubella is a disease preventable by vaccination, according to World Health Organization. Complications linked to the disease include the risk of miscarriage or foetal abnormality for women who contract it in the early stages of a pregnancy.

On April 16, a Macau gaming labour activist group delivered a letter to the city’s Labour Affairs Bureau to “reflect concerns” it had regarding the number of rubella infection cases reported this month among casino staff.

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