The Macau government announced over the weekend that masks are no longer required in outdoor areas as of Monday, while decisions on the wearing of masks indoors can be made by those in charge of businesses.

The measure came into effect from Monday morning, with the six concessionaires – Melco Resorts, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Sands China, SJM Resorts and Wynn Macau – also changing their guidelines for customers entering casinos. Customers can now enter all casinos with or without a mask, the decision to be at their own discretion.

An announcement issued by one concessionaire to its employees stated, “Starting at midnight today, all customers and employees entering the resorts, including the casinos, are not required to wear masks. However, if you have a fever, sore throat or cough you must wear a mask.”

IAG visited a number of Macau casinos on Monday, including peninsula properties Grand Lisboa, MGM Macau and Wynn Macau, and confirmed that staff are no longer requiring customers to wear masks when

However, most customers still chose to wear masks even they are no longer required to do so.

One visitor told IAG, “Since it is still necessary to wear a mask when taking transportation but there is no restriction for indoor and outdoor activities, I will continue to wear it when I travel in Macau to avoid having to wear it at one time and take it off at another time.”

Another casino employee told IAG that although their company no longer requires casino employees to wear masks, most will continue to do so.

“The measure of not having to wear a mask has just been relaxed, but the casino is so crowded that many employees choose to continue to wear it on their own,” the employee said.

Stephen Lau Ka Weng, President of Power of the Macao Gaming Association, said, “We have received a lot of feedback from staff and members of other organizations that most of them would like to wear masks at work because they are worried about the high density of people in the casinos and the rapid spread of diseases.

“Currently, gaming staff can choose whether to wear masks at work, and there is no mandatory requirement for staff to remove their masks.”

By Pierce Chan