10.38 am: A case identified in Macau, compulsory mask for casino employees
The semi-autonomous Chinese region of Macau reported on Wednesday the first case of the coronavirus that appeared in China and ordered all the employees of its casinos to wear a mask, to stem the epidemic. The only area in China where gambling is allowed, the former Portuguese colony annually attracts millions of tourists from mainland China.
Macanese authorities on Wednesday announced the first confirmed case of the virus, found in a 52-year-old businesswoman who arrived on a train from the nearby town of Zhuhai on Sunday. “A series of tests has shown that she is positive for the coronavirus and that she has symptoms of pneumonia,” Lei Chin-lon, head of the Macanan department of health, told reporters. This lady had stayed at the New Orient Landmark Hotel with two friends who have been under medical surveillance since her hospitalization on Tuesday.
Macan’s secretary of social affairs and culture, Ao Ieong Iu, said employees of all casinos should wear masks, while everyone entering the city from mainland China would have a medical questionnaire to fill out. “We do not prohibit tourist groups from Wuhan from coming, but we do not encourage them either,” she said. “We ask all travel agencies to notify us of groups arriving from Wuhan.”
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