Virus shuts Macau casinos

All of the casinos in Macau are now closed and they are expected to be shut for as much as a month while China deals with the coronavirus outbreak.

The casinos had been successively closed over the past 10 days, but the last of them closed its doors and laid off its staff temporarily on Tuesday of this week.

There are 41 casinos in the city and they comprise the largest gambling market in the world, substantially larger than Las Vegas. Some of the biggest names in the business, such as Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, are among operators closing their doors.

By Wednesday of this week, 10 people had been diagnosed with the illness, one of them an employee at the Galaxy Casino. Around 500 people have so far died of the virus on mainland China, plus one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.