The Macau government opened today the city's third "quarantine hotel", the 326-room Regency Art Hotel in Taipa.
According to a statement by the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Regency Art "is the third hotel designated [by the government] as a venue for medical observation starting from today."
On Tuesday, the government announced the opening of the city's second COVID-19 medical observation hotel, the 300-room Golden Crown China Hotel opposite the Macau International Airport in Taipa.
Late January, the 298-room Pousada Marina Infante in Cotai became Macau's first hotel designated for people under medical observation in response to the novel coronavirus epidemic.
Today's statement said the third quarantine hotel was opened "in consideration of the rising number of residents returning to Macau." The statement stressed that "it is worth noting that all individuals under mandatory quarantine at a designated hotel for medical observation are without [COVID-19] symptoms and have not been in close contact with confirmed cases of novel coronavirus pneumonia.
"The Health Bureau requires all persons under mandatory quarantine to take their own temperature twice a day, while the bureau checks once a day on their latest physical condition by phone.
"Once they are found to have a fever or other [COVID-19] symptoms, [they] will immediately be sent to hospital for further check-up."
The statement noted that the novel coronavirus can spread through respiratory droplets in close distance but not through the air. "Residents who live near the designated hotels can be reassured if such concerns may arise," the statement said.
"Considering that it would be a safe option for residents, upon their return to Macau, to go through mandatory quarantine at designated hotels for medical observation rather than self-quarantine at home, despite that it remains a challenging process to choose hotels for such purpose, the government will make great efforts to look for more hotels that can be converted into medical observation venues," the statement said.
Macau had 122 hotels and guesthouses at the end of January, according to the latest available data from the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).
While mandatory 14-day quarantine is free of charge for local residents, non-locals have to bear the costs of their quarantine.
Meanwhile, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) said in a statement that the Casino Taipa on the premises of Regency Art Hotel temporarily closed for business this afternoon.
Consequently, the bureau pointed out, 37 casinos will be operating from today, with about 5,400 of the licensed gaming tables, or 80 percent of the number in operation before the government closed all casinos between February 5-19 as one of its measures to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.
Macau has so far confirmed 17 novel coronavirus cases. Ten of the patients have meanwhile been discharged from hospital.
