Macao Extends Citywide Lockdown Amid Struggle to Contain Covid

Residents of Macao take nucleic acid tests on July 10, during the city's seventh round of mass-testing. Photo: The Paper

(Bloomberg) — Macao will extend a citywide shutdown as the gambling hub struggles to contain its biggest ever Covid-19 outbreak, prolonging the plight of casinos which are burning through millions of dollars every day and earning no revenue.

All non-essential businesses are required to remain closed through July 22, authorities said in a statement Saturday, extending measures that began July 11 and were initially due to end last a week. The government will allocate another 10 billion patacas ($1.24 billion) to fund alleviation programs for those affected by the outbreak, it said in a separate statement.