Rua do Cunha used to be filled with visitors buying souvenirs to remember their trip to Macau, however, since the Delta variant scare last week, the street has been emptied and staff members from different shops told The Macau Post Daily yesterday that there was “not a soul” in the area.
A female durian ice-cream shop staff member told The Macau Post Daily that the day that the government announced the 12-hour validity period for visitors’ nucleic acid test (NAT), there were still a number of them roaming around the streets. However, she pointed out that when the remainder left the city, there were only a few residents buying their products. She also said that the shop owner insisted on keeping the shop open for customers, adding that they both agreed that they should just strive to sell as many products as possible.
When asked what the situation was like a week before the Delta variant scare, she said that it was around 70 percent to 80 percent of what it used to be before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also underlined that the current situation is the worst ever, even worse than when the novel coronavirus outbreak first started in January 2019.
Another female shop staff from a jerky shop said that there has been almost zero income in the past few days. She said that the shop lost 99 percent of its customers. The shop staff said that before the case of the local “Delta family” her shop was making good sales, even though it was not as good as pre-COVID-19 times. She also said that the two weeks before Macau’s new COVID-19 development had been great, stressing that she thought “it was the light at the end of the tunnel”.
She then cut a slice of a pork jerky and said that it could only last for 7 days and other types could only last for a month, worrying that all the jerky might go to waste. However, she said that her boss insisted on opening because the shop’s staff still need to make a living and she would continue to work despite the “soulless” street. She pulled up a picture on her phone of Rua do Cunha at 7 p.m. on Sunday and said that there was “not even a ghost shadow”, adding that she was very “upset” about it.
Most of the restaurants in the streets are closed but one of the eateries, that was still open, had a male staff member standing in the street trying to get customers. He said that Macau people preferred eating at home at times like this, so not even residents would come for a meal now. He said that he agreed with his boss’s decision to keep the restaurant open because it would send out the message that they are “surviving” and “striving” even under such adverse circumstances.
These photos show Taipa’s nearly vacant Rua do Cunha with only a few shops open yesterday. Photos: Prisca Tang
