Marina Bay Sands Closes Due to COVID Outbreak
Singapore’s largest casino, Marina Bay Sands will be closing its doors for at least 2 weeks following 11 confirmed cases amongst casino staff. The venue will begin a deep clean phase starting from July 22nd as the teams at the venue take every measure to try and eradicate the virus. The closure to the casino owned by Las Vegas Sands is a major blow to an industry that has been suffering revenue problems over the past 18 months.
The Marina Bay Sands casino will undergo a major deep clean phase over the next 14 days as the city reels from a new cluster of COVID cases.
©Engin_Akyurt/Pixabay
Singapore was seemingly clear of the virus just a few months ago, following a series of stringent government crackdowns on freedom of movement, but following the outbreak of a cluster at the country’s fishing port has pushed the government towards reimposing the lockdown measures. Some would argue they have been over-cautious, but with several variants now emerging in the Asian peninsula, the situation is approaching a critical phase.
With regards to the Marina Bay Sands casino itself, eleven cases have now been recorded at the venue. A large amount that has put the stable operating procedures of the venue into an untenable state. In order to conduct a deep clean of the entire venue and ensure that the virus spreading chain is broken, the casino has announced it will conduct a deep clean for the next 14 days.
On top of this, all staff working across all areas of the venue from the casino, hotel and shopping mall will be tested for the virus. This triple headed approach will be thought to more than cover the entire workforce and ensure that any areas of the Marina Bay Sands venue still open for public usage has been thoroughly cleaned. The owner Las Vegas Sands has fully supported the measures and seeks a quick path back to normality.
Marina Bay Outbreak Cluster Relatively Minimal
The relative scale of the outbreak discovered at Marina Bay Sands this week has been described as relatively minimal when looking at the case numbers across Singapore as a whole. With only 11 cases compared to the 179 found at the fishing port, the contrast really is quite huge. The fishery port cluster has become the epicenter of Singapore’s new wave of COVID infections, and the area is filled with food markets, bars and restaurants.
Much like other countries seeking to implement circuit breaker initiatives on the fly, the Singaporean authorities have determined that fisher cluster represents a significant threat to the safety of the public. Serious and targeted measures including a ban on dining-in at restaurants, maximum capacity limits being placed on venues and limitations on social interactions have all once again been implemented.
The trouble remains that those being affected in these areas are mostly fishmongers, or stall assistants, these people earn an honest living and will suffer terribly if the markets are shut down once again. Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be done when these workers are infected. The virus has been spread rapidly through this subset of the population due to the nature of their work and the communities in which they reside.
Over 40 food markets across the fishing ports of Singapore have now seen positive COVID cases in recent weeks. The authorities are trying to ramp up testing in these locations, offering all fishmongers access to free daily testing, and it remains a race to track cases before they develop new clusters elsewhere. Ultimately the fish markets will remain open as they are seen as a vital resource for people working in the country.
Singapore’s Plan for Reopening Casinos and Businesses
Singapore’s Health Minister leaders have already begun their investigations into how a new cluster of COVID cases managed to make its way onto their shores. One theory is fishing vessels from Indonesia brought the virus, this is backed up by the virus variant being like the infections detected on air-travelers crossing into Singapore from Indonesia.
While Singapore’s case numbers remain much lower than the thousands of daily cases being recorded in Indonesia and Malaysia, the region is being closely monitored as it attempts to become a pioneer within the group of major economies for fully reopening and keeping a tight control on infection rates. Singapore has already had more than 50% of its population fully vaccinated and is expected to hit the 66% rate by mid-August.
With the impressive vaccination rates there are chances that the country will open fully in the coming weeks. However, the resurgence of a wave of COVID cases means this will likely be a very difficult. The situation is the same too for international travel, and it is highly unlikely now that the virus will be at a level where the borders will be opened soon.
As the number of vaccinated residents in Singapore rises it will put the government in a much stronger position. Measures including a ban on indoor sports, only meetings of two people allowed outside, and a shutdown of the leisure and hospitality sector, the next two weeks will be pivotal in determining in the country can get back to a regular footing or not.
