Rising Macau cases spur panic buying, stock jitters

Macau began its second day of mass testing yesterday after at least 36 locally transmitted cases were found during the weekend.

Most businesses were shut along with government offices, but casinos remained open.

Authorities expect the Covid caseload to continue to rise, but added the situation will be helped when a temporary hospital is up and running within a few days to take patients.

The 36 cases cover people aged eight months to 89 years. Ten have developed symptoms and 26 are asymptomatic.

Authorities were also doing contact tracing and following up on 764 people, including 178 close contacts. Some people had been at banquets and gatherings before testing positive.

Two clusters - one from the Edificio Yim Lai building and the other believed to have started from prison officer - were found to be linked, though the sources of infection remained unknown last night.

Besides the temporary hospital authorities are also arranging quarantine hotels.

Samples from close to 460,000 people had been obtained by the middle of yesterday during mass testing that started on Sunday. That is due to end today. Over 269,000 people have showed up as negative and the work continued.

People have been urged to stay at home and they can only take public transport if they have a green health code.

Panic buying and long queues in supermarkets were also seen during the day, but authorities said the city had sufficient supplies and called for calm.

Shares of casinos tumbled. Sands China led the slide by falling over 8 percent, while MGM China, Wynn Macau, Galaxy Entertainment, Melco and SJM Holdings dropped from 4 to 7 percent.

Hong Kong yesterday recorded 1,327 cases - 1,186 local infections and 141 imported. There was also one Covid-linked death, though the 53-year-old man had cancer.

Chuang Shuk-kwan, head of the Centre for Health Protection's communicable disease unit, said the caseload will continue to rise, but the speed of transmission is much slower compared to the peak of the fifth wave as most people have already been infected or are fully vaccinated.

She said 408 cases were reported from 289 schools, involving 335 students and 73 staff.

Six schools - Chai Wan Kok Catholic Primary School in Tsuen Wan, St Stephen's College in Stanley, Kei Wan Primary School in Aldrich Bay, SKH Saint Benedict's School in Choi Hung, Wycombe Abbey School in Aberdeen and HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College in Tin Shui Wai - saw outbreaks. Classes with clusters suspended face-to-face teaching for a week.

Chuang added that four homes for the elderly had infections. Longevity Palace-Rainbow Villa in Kwun Tong had five cases while three others each had one.

Government health adviser David Hui Shu-cheong said gatherings during Father's Day on Sunday could mean a bump in Covid infections. But if most cases were mild Hong Kong's health system would be able to handle a surge.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com

Editorial: Casinos face their biggest bet