A new Covid-19 cluster has formed at the casino of Marina Bay Sands. According to the Ministry of Health, 11 new cases are linked to this location.
“To break the chain of transmission and enable deep cleaning of the premises, Marina Bay Sands Casino will be closed to all members of the public from July 22 to Aug 5 2021,” said the ministry on July 21.
Members of the public who had visited the casino between July 7 and July 21 are asked to be tested, for free.
Las Vegas Sands Corp, the company the owns Marina Bay Sands, reported that adjusted property earnings for its 2QFY2021 was US$244 million, short of the US$290.6 million expected by analysts. Adjusted loss per share was 26 US cents, versus 17 US cents seen.
Revenue for the quarter surged to US$1.17 billion from US$62 million in the year earlier quarter. However, analysts were expecting a revenue of US$1.37 billion.
As a result of the earnings missing forecast and with news of the casino closure, Las Vegas Sands Corp shares dropped as much as 3.8% in overnight US trading to US$47.55.
See also: Sheldon Adelson, boss of Marina Bay Sands, dies at 87
As of July 21 2021, the ministry has verified that a total 179 new cases of locally transmitted Covid-19 infection. Out of which, 130 are linked to the Jurong Fishery Port cluster and 8 belong to the KTV cluster.
Of these 179 cases today, 80 are linked to previous cases, and have already been placed on quarantine; 69 are linked to previous cases and were detected through surveillance. Thirty of the new cases are currently unlinked.
With effect from July 22, all dining-in will be banned till Aug 18, sending the country back to an earlier phase of tightened measures.
