Macau is a special administrative region of the People’s Republic of China that is located on the southeast of coast of China. It comprises the island of Taipa and Coloane that are linked by the land forming the Cotai Strips. Visiting this place means seeing a blending of Chinese and Portuguese culture.
Macau is one of the greatest place to go by offering a gorgeous colonial architecture, an incredible climate, incredible food and casino entertainment. In fact, it is known as Asia’s gaming capital with nearly 34 casinos such as Venetian Macau Casino, the Sands Macau, Casino Lisboa and Wynn Macau. Probably, this popularity reached its peak in the 2000s, right after the Chinese government managed to attract new foreigner investors, bringing prosperity and more tourists from all over the world. The greatest games in the world, with the highest stakes are here, contributing to this fame.
In 2018, tourist numbers, according to some specialists, reached 35.6 million, quite a record even for a popular region within the gambling industry. It has an average income that is just outstanding. However, visitor numbers have plunged nearly 80% in less than a week when compared with last year’s lunar new due to the Wuhan virus outbreak.
Official figures from the Macau Government Tourism office revealed that the region has only received 261,069 tourists during the last week of January, which is supposed to be one of the busiest seasons of the region, with many people coming from all over the world to enjoy Chinese Lunar New Year. Hotels and the touristic spots are nearly empty and some shops have even closed, which is something rather unusual in a region that is used to receiving many people.
This means a significant blow for the economy since gambling represents nearly 80% of the local government revenue. Unfortunately, this visitor number does not seem to increase as the virus is spreading and Chinese government has restricted travels due to the death tolls in the country.
What are the consequences of Wuhan virus in casinos?
People in Macau remain under alert as seven cases have been reported and the fear of being infected grows. To prevent the virus spread in this former Portuguese enclave, Chinese government has encouraged tourists to leave as soon as possible and dozens of flights have been cancelled. This is mainly because most of the visitors come from other Chinese places.
Now, ambulances frequently patrol the regions with workers in hazardous material suits.
Although croupiers, waitresses, security guards and the rest of the staff are wearing masks, casinos have to shut down temporarily, triggering a 30% drop in the casino revenue.
What is Wuhan virus?
According to scientists, the 2019nCov that is widely known as Wuhan coronavirus may have started in animals, namely, in bats. In fact, it is said it has started in an animal market in Wuhan, the Hubei Province of China. At some point, bats managed to transmit this infection to a small mammal and then human beings. What few people know is scientists analyzed 10 genomes and found out that the virus has jumped to human recently, since it does not seem to have evolved and mutated as it is supposed to be.
The symptoms of the Wuhan virus include dry cough, shortness of breath, headache, sore throat, fever and others. As you can see, these are pretty much like a cold. The time of the incubation of this illness is up to fourteen days and it could possibly be transmitted from person to person. As this is a quite new outbreak, the fatality rate is estimated around 2%, but it could grow as time goes by. So far, 6,095 cases are confirmed in China. In addition to that, it has spread to other 24 countries and territories worldwide such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom. As of February 3, 2020, 320 deaths have been reported, leading the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency.
China has strived to handle this disease by building a hospital in 10 days and putting 46 million people in quarantine to contain Wuhan virus. Some of the regions in the lowdown include, obviously, Wuhan and Hong Kong.
Prevention
Unfortunately, there is no vaccine to fight this virus, although scientists are working hard to create one. Things like antibiotics can kill bacteria, not a virus. That is the reason why typically doctors can treat the symptoms, but not the virus itself. Therefore, wearing a mask, avoiding interaction with infected people, cleaning the hands frequently before and after dealing with the infected can really protect you.
Depending on whether you were exposed to an infected area or you have the symptoms previously mentioned, you will be required to head to an isolated room with negative pressure keeping germs inside.
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