Daily Archives: January 9, 2022

Issued on: 06/01/2022 - 03:08Modified: 06/01/2022 - 03:06

Hong Kong (AFP) Macau has announced a two-week ban on any inbound passenger flights from outside of China after three coronavirus cases were found in passengers arriving from overseas.

The move came the same day Hong Kong banned flights from eight nations and ramped up social distancing measures, leaving the two neighbouring Chinese territories even more cut off from the rest of the world.

Like mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have maintained some of the world's harshest measures throughout the pandemic -- including virtually closed borders, weeks-long quarantines, targeted lockdowns and mass testing.

Macau's Health Bureau announced Wednesday it will prohibit "civil aircraft from carrying passengers from places outside China to Macau" for two weeks starting midnight on Sunday.

Macau bars non-residents from entering the city, while residents returning from outside of China have to quarantine for at least 21 days, similar to Hong Kong.

Health officials on Wednesday identified three imported asymptomatic cases in Macau, related to travellers from the United Kingdom and the Philippines.

The former Portuguese colony turned Chinese gambling hub has only recorded 79 confirmed coronavirus cases -- using the mainland's tallying method that excludes asymptomatic patients -- and no deaths.

In August, Macau ordered compulsory coronavirus testing for all 680,000 residents after a family of four was found to be carrying the Delta variant, breaking the city's 16-month streak of being virus-free.

Macau has also adopted mainland China's health app, which rates infection risk, tracks movement and generates test and vaccination records.

2022 AFP

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Macau bans international passenger flights for two weeks - FRANCE 24

Despite the current upheaval in Macaus junket industry, Edmund Loi Hoi Ngan, Associate Professor of the Social, Economic and Public Policy Research Centre of Macao Polytechnic Institute, believes that recent events do not point to the exclusion of junkets but rather establish a clear line in the sand that VIP gaming promoters must not touch online or cross-border gambling.

Following the arrest and detainment without bail of Sun City Gaming Promotion Company Limiteds sole shareholder, Alvin Chau, who is currently awaiting trial for alleged criminal association, illegal gambling and money laundering, Macaus casino concessionaires recently began terminating contracts with junket promoters. The VIP gaming industry, which once generated the majority of Macaus gambling revenue, is facing an unprecedented crisis.

However, Loi believes the current situation has eliminated some of the gray areas around the VIP segment, ensuring rules will now become clearer with less uncertainty. This in turn is conducive to the healthy development of Macaus gaming industry, he said.

When he previously spoke with IAG in September, Loi said, Due to its positioning as a gaming center, Macau has not been able to reassure the Central Government that it can avoid becoming a loophole of capital outflow.

He now believes one of the ways to reassure the Central Government is by making two key adjustments to its gaming industry: reducing its reliance on the VIP sector and increasing non-gaming elements.

The IRs are here already and as long as the clients are not organized to come [by operators or promoters), it is a normal operation. This way, the line is drawn so that everyone is clearer, Loi said.

For instance, after some concessionaires changed their name to indicate leisure and entertainment (SJMs Chinese name was changed to mean Macau Leisure and Entertainment rather than Macau gaming), they were included in the promotional roadshows of Macau in mainland China (part of the MGTOs Macao Week promotion events). This also shows that such activities are allowed.

Loi also notes that the closure of Macau VIP rooms and cessation of junket activities by the likes of Suncity and Tak Chun is not a declaration of bankruptcy and could be a case of promoters adopting a wait and see approach regarding how they can legally resume operations in future.

After all, Southeast Asia still allows cross-border gambling, he said. Countries like Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan are not opposed to cross-border gambling. The ways for junkets are not completely blocked, as long as they stay away from mainland China. I think the bottom line is very clear.

Loi said that although both the Suncity and Dore Entertainment cases accelerated the shrinkage of Macaus VIP segment, there still might be a gradual rebound once amendment to Macaus gaming law are confirmed.

As for development of the gaming industry in the coming year, Loi believes Macau is still the worlds most promising gaming market at present despite the lingering presence of COVID-19.

Although the statistics during the past two years are poor, they are still good compared to other jurisdictions, he explained. For example, despite the fact that Macaus foreign investment dropped by more than MOP$50 billion in 2020, US capital still chose to enter Macau, which means that Macaus gaming market is still the best in terms of the global market.

Although it seems that the scale of Macaus gaming industry will be somewhat limited to a certain extent in the future, on the whole, I think no gaming company would actually want to miss the opportunity to enter or stay.

GGR bottomed out last summer, some uncertainties have now been removed and visitors have stabilized at around 30,000 per day. When things are stable, decisions can be made faster.

The reason Im optimistic about Macau is because I cannot find any better place.

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Macau's line in the sand doesn't need to be fatal blow for junkets: Edmund Loi - IAG - Inside Asian Gaming

An Algiers court on Sunday sentenced an opposition figure to two years behind bars on charges including insulting the president, a prisoners rights group said.

Fethi Ghares, coordinator of the small leftist Democratic and Social Movement party, was arrested in late June and his house was searched.

The 47-year-old was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of 200,000 dinars (over $1,400), the CNLD rights group said.

Ghares was prosecuted over charges including harming the person of the president of the republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and spreading information that could harm national unity and public order, it added.

He is expected to appeal.

A figure from Algerias secular leftist opposition, Ghares in 2019 joined the pro-democracy Hirak movement mass protests that swept veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power.

The long-running movement still demands the overhaul of Algerias political system.

More than 200 people are currently behind bars in relation to the Hirak, according to the CNLD.

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Algerian opposition figure sentenced to two years' jail - Macau Business

Dalian FC, who ranked 15th in the 16-club Chinese Super League (CSL), came on verge of relegation after drawing 1-1 with Chengdu Better City FC in the first leg of their playoffs here on Saturday.

As part of a revamped format, the 15th and 16th CSL teams have to vie against the top two finishers of Chinas second tier League One to keep their status in next seasons top flight.

Dalian broke the deadlock in the 42nd minute through Sun Guowens powerful low drive in the box connecting a precise corner ball which dismantled their opponents defense.

But Sun was fouled out after collecting his second yellow card in the 55th minute, giving Chengdu, the second-placed China League One team, some extra hope to turn the tide as they carried out a fierce attack afterwards.

Feng Zhuoyi drew a foul in the box on 81 minutes and Chengdu forward Felipe de Sousa Silva stepped up to level the game by converting a composed penalty.

The two teams will face each other again next Wednesday.

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Dalian faces threat of relegation from CSL after drawing with Chengdu - Macau Business

Russia and the United States hold talks in Geneva from Sunday focused on tensions over Ukraine but expected to touch on the slew of disputes between the former Cold War adversaries.

Western officials say Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, where a pro-Moscow insurgency has killed more than 13,000 people.

The United States has warned of severe consequences of an invasion and that progress in other areas is impossible until Russia pulls back.

Russia, which annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014, has demanded guarantees that NATO not take in new members or set up further bases in the former Soviet Union.

Moscow says it was promised at the end of the Cold War that the Western-led alliance would not expand.

Russia has also forcefully intervened in Belarus, where strongman Alexander Lukashenko has cracked down on mass protests triggered by wide accounts of rigging in the 2020 elections, and more recently in Kazakhstan where Russian troops were invited to suppress demonstrations.

In Africa, the United States and the European Union have stepped up pressure against the Wagner group, a private security firm close to President Vladimir Putin.

The group has been accused of abuses in the Central African Republic and Libya and has reportedly discussed a major contract with Mali.

Western powers have long been at loggerheads with Russia over its crucial support to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, although on another hotspot, Iran, President Joe Bidens administration has largely welcomed cooperation with Moscow.

Bidens victory over the unilateral-minded administration of Donald Trump reopened diplomacy on arms control between the worlds two largest nuclear powers.

The two nations in Bidens early days reached a five-year extension of the New START nuclear reduction treaty.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States was ready to discuss new measures to reduce risks in Europe but warned Russia must first withdraw troops from the Ukrainian border.

The Biden administration has vowed to champion democracy against the models of China and Russia and has repeatedly criticised Moscows rights record.

Courts last month shut down Russias most prominent rights group, Memorial, a step that would have been a surprise even a few years ago.

The United States has imposed sanctions over the treatment of Putins most high-profile critic, Alexei Navalny, who was nearly killed in a poisoning in 2020 and then imprisoned on old charges of embezzlement.

The United States has warned its embassy in Moscow could stop functioning this year due to a new ban on hiring local staff.

Washington says Moscow has not been reciprocal in the number of US diplomats permitted in Russia, with former local staff counting against the US allotment.

Among other bilateral issues, the United States has warned Putin to crack down on hackers believed to operate in Russia and has longstanding concerns about Russian disinformation campaigns, most notably during the 2016 election in which Putin backed Trump.

The United States has also sought the release of two citizens jailed in Russia, former marine Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, who was charged with assaulting police officers while drunk.

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The wide points of friction between US and Russia - Macau Business

The city should buckle up early for vaccinated dining-in, though it remains too early to permit border crossings, a government doctor suggested at yesterdays health press briefing.

Public health doctor Leong Iek Hou, division head for prevention and control of contagious disease at the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, disclosed that the government is contemplating the possibility of mandating a vaccine bubble requiring people to provide proof of vaccination status before being permitted to enter catering establishments and other venues.

Concerns over when the measure will take effect were raised at the press briefing. The official did not provide a definitive response to these concerns, merely reiterating that the government is considering it as a possibility.

Leong attributed the need for the measure to the transmissibility of the new Omicron variant, stating that she did not dare say that when there is an infection, there is only a single case.

As such, she said that implementing the vaccine bubble measure only after the detection of new case is likely to be too late to be effective.

We wont wait until there is a case to implement the [vaccine bubble] measure, Leong proclaimed.

However, when asked about the need for vaccination for the purposes of border crossing, Leong did not give a direct answer as to whether measures will be put in place.

She stressed again that measures will be put into place according to the development of the pandemic.

If we see full vaccination across Macau, it will not be explicitly required for border crossing, she said. Otherwise, we wont rule out the possibility of the measure.

Individuals who cannot or do not want to receive the vaccine will, when the vaccine bubble measure takes effect, be required to show evidence of negative SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test results in order to enter venues.

In addition, the public health doctor stated for the first time that the existing guidelines and measures are in effect due to the current pandemic. All our disease control measures are in place as per the situation. If the necessity fades, they will be lifted, of course, Leong said.

Leong was also questioned about the compulsory footprint registration measures by a journalist who said that she was asked to register her attendance upon entering the press briefing venue. The journalist said that she was asked to do so at other public venues.

The Health Bureau has reiterated the voluntary nature of footprint registration.

The public health doctor stressed that footprint registration is completely voluntary, stating that staff at public venues should encourage users to register their attendance but cannot force them to do so.

The transmissibilityof omicron

Many reports have suggested that the Omicron variant is more transmissible but ultimately weaker than previous variants.

At the press briefing, Leong agreed that while this was suggested by some studies, the reality of the situation was that the Omicron variant was still a variant of concern notwithstanding the fact that it is a weaker strain.

Looking at the reality across Europe and the US and their respective medical systems, in many places [health systems] are overloaded, she said. What does this mean? It means that a certain number of people require hospitalization, which indicates the occurrence of severe or even fatal cases.

She added that the new variant may cause weaker symptoms but it doesnt mean that we dont need to care about it. The Omicron variant, she said, may still result in severe complications in the unvaccinated, elderly and patients with chronic diseases.

With such strong transmissibility, even a 1% rate of severe cases will shock society in general, Leong said, adding that for the time being, containment tactics will rely on prevention and control.

With that said, the UK announced yesterday that certain restrictions would be lifted despite the widespread incidence of new cases.

Quarantine hoteladded despite ban

Liz Lam Tong Hou, division head of public relations at the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), announced yesterday that the Regency Art Hotel will resume its status today as a self-selected quarantine hotel.

A self-selected quarantine hotel requires the guests to pay for their accommodation regardless of their residency status or whether it is their first time staying at a quarantine hotel in Macau.

The announcement came after the governments decision to ban incoming passengers from foreign flights from January 9. Government officials yesterday defended the need for an extra quarantine hotel.

All quarantine hotels are reportedly fully booked until the Lunar New Year.

Leong said that, although passengers will not enter Macau directly from jurisdictions outside Greater China by flight, they can still fly into mainland China, quarantine there and enter Macau.

Moreover, she initially said that returnees can also consider flying in via Taiwan. However, the islands main international airport in Taoyuan has suspended transit services since May last year.

The official later clarified at the press briefing that she was referring to Macau residents currently located in Taiwan who may enter Macau, as there are still flights flying between the two jurisdictions.

The Health Bureau, stating that it has followed suggestions by the World Health Organization (WHO), encourages individuals receiving the inactivated vaccines for the first two doses to receive an mRNA jab as their booster shot in order to trigger higher antibody levels, Dr Leong Iek Hou said.

However, the practice of receiving the inactivated vaccine as a booster shot for those who have already received inactivated vaccines as their first and second doses will be nevertheless be accepted by the local authorities.

The interval between receiving the second shot and booster shot will be shortened for individuals with an urgent need to travel, who may now receive the booster shot 12 weeks from their second jab.

Prior to the roll-out of the vaccine, it was initially thought that the vaccine would help prevent infection. It was subsequently thought that the vaccine would be able to prevent onset of the disease. The vaccine is now said to only be effective in reducing the number of severe cases and death.

At yesterdays press briefing, Leong addressed the matter of the evolving understanding of vaccine efficacy, admitting for the first time that the use of the vaccine in reality differs from what scientists had initially expected.

She added that despite this, the vaccine is still very useful in avoiding the need for hospitalization, as well as reducing the severity of infection and death. We should hold this belief firmly, Leong said. AL

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Covid-19 | Vaccine proof or negative NAT for restaurants, entertainment venues on the table - Macau Daily Times

New Zealand reported 149 new COVID-19 cases over two days, said the Ministry of Health in a statement on Sunday.

Among the new cases, 85 were community cases and 64 were imported cases at the border, said the ministry.

Among the new community infections, 57 were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, 16 in Bay of Plenty, seven in Waikato, two in the Lakes region, one in Taranaki and two in Wellington.

The total case number of COVID-19 in the current Delta variant outbreak in New Zealand community reached 11,142, mainly in Auckland and peripheral regions.

There were 31 COVID-19 patients in New Zealand hospitals including two cases in intensive care units or high dependency units.

New Zealand recorded 14,298 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the ministry, 92 percent of eligible New Zealanders have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

To be prepared to defence against all variants of COVID-19, including Omicron, the ministry continued its push for vaccination roll out, including requesting people who are eligible for a booster dose to get their third jab.

New Zealand is currently using COVID-19 Protection Framework or traffic lights framework. Northland in the North Island is at red settings. The rest of the country, including largest city Auckland and capital city Wellington, is at orange settings.

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New Zealand reports 149 new cases of COVID-19 - Macau Business

Security forces fired tear gas Sunday as thousands rallied in Sudans capital Khartoum and a neighbouring city, witnesses said, keeping up pressure on the military following a coup 11 weeks ago.

The coup, led by army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on October 25, derailed a power-sharing transition between the military and civilians that had been painstakingly established in the wake of longtime autocrat Omar-al-Bashirs ouster in 2019.

Security forces fired tear gas as pro-democracy protesters headed towards the presidential palace, witnesses said, amid roadblocks seeking to prevent people converging there and at army headquarters. Protesters also rallied in Omdurman, Khartoums twin city.

The resumption of protests since the coup has been met with a crackdown that has killed at least 60 people, according to medics.

Authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition in confronting protests and said scores of security forces have been wounded during demonstrations that have often deviated from peacefulness.

Last week, Sudans civilian prime minister Abdalla Hamdok resigned saying the country was at a dangerous crossroads threatening its very survival.

He had only taken his position back up on November 21, having originally been ousted along with his government in the October coup.

On Saturday, the United Nations said it would facilitate talks between key Sudanese stakeholders in a bid to resolve the crisis.

But the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), the civilian alliance which spearheaded the protests against Bashir and became integral to the transition government, said it had not received any details about the UN initiative.

On Sunday, the Sudanese Professionals Association similarly instrumental in the anti-Bashir protests said it completely rejected the UN-facilitated talks.

The way to resolve the Sudanese crisis begins with the complete overthrow of the putschist military council and the handover of its members to face justice over the killings committed against the defenceless (and) peaceful Sudanese people, the SPA said in a statement.

Burhan has insisted that the October military takeover was not a coup but only meant to rectify the course of the Sudanese transition.

The UN Security Council is to meet on Wednesday to discuss the latest developments in Sudan.

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Sudan security forces fire tear gas as thousands protest coup - Macau Business