(Bloomberg) -- Macau will reopen casinos from Saturday if virus conditions allow, as the gaming hub’s worst ever Covid-19 outbreak eases.

The city will allow the venues to resume operations if conditions, including relating to ventilation, are appropriate, Ao Ieong U, secretary for social affairs and culture, said at a briefing on Wednesday. The reopening is part of a broader resumption of business from July 23, though bars, cinemas and nightclubs will remain shut and dining-in services at restaurants suspended. 

The city reported just 18 new daily cases, down from 146 at the peak of the flareup, following a more than one-week lockdown that shut almost everything except essential businesses and kept residents mostly at home. Reuters reported the casinos’ reopening plans earlier.

Macau aligns itself with China’s Covid Zero strategy of mass testing, lockdowns and movement curbs to eliminate the virus as it relies on the mainland for the majority of its tourists. 

Casinos are set to face continued headwinds given the lack of quarantine-free travel between Macau and the mainland, which means there’ll be few customers and gaming venues are likely to burn through millions of dollars of cash each day. Even after the border fully reopens, it will still take time for Macau to rebuild confidence for tourists to come back in large numbers, Credit Suisse analysts including Kenneth Fong said in a note. 

Casinos account for 80% of Macau’s government income and one third of the city’s employment. The last time gaming venues were shut was during an unprecedented 15-day closure in February in 2020. 

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