Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | June 2009 34 Swine Flu the Health Bureau,” says Mr Carruthers. “They talked everybody through the timeline of this particular virus, what the implications were, and the correct measures to take and outlined the basic strategy of how we should be taking care of our customers and staff,” states Mr Carruthers. On 18th May, following the swine flu outbreak among high school students in Japan, Macau Health Bureau’s Coordination Group for Preparedness and Response to Influenza Pandemic raisedMacau’s pandemic alert fromLevel 4 to Level 5. Among the advice given under the raised alert level was a warning against holding large-scale social, cultural and sports activities. The Bureau advised that if such events could not be postponed for logistical reasons, they should always be held in well-ventilated venues with good sanitation and washing facilities. The Bureau also recommended that parents should check their children’s body temperature before allowing them to go to school and called for schools to designate teachers or other staff to check students for signs of ill health twice a day. Border controls Macau’s first line of defence against swine flu—also known scientifically as H1N1—is immigration arrival halls at border crossing points. There visitors are temperature screened, required to sign a declaration they are in good health and equally importantly instructed to provide details of their mode and time of travel and to furnish a contact telephone number. This would be used in an emergency by the Macau authorities to contact and warn individuals to report for screening should a fellow passenger on a ferry, bus or aircraft subsequently show symptoms of the illness during their time in Macau. This system worked effectively in China and Hong Kong, when all passengers on the flights that originally brought the Mexican H1N1 sufferer to Shanghai and subsequently to Hong Kong were located and, where necessary, isolated. Given that more than half of all Macau’s visitors come from Mainland China, the casino operators have a clear interest in helping the authorities to maintain safe cross-border travel. “We haven’t seen any indication that China is considering closing the border,” says Mr Carruthers. “It’s more a case of vigilance. The authorities on both sides of the border have been very good in terms of their communication and education of travellers at the crossing points. They have systems in place to follow up any cases that may be of concern,” he states. Balancing act Mr Carruthers adds it’s unlikely casino operators will install temperature sensors to screen all their patrons. “I’m not sure we would institute temperature checks on customers coming through the doors of our properties unless we were instructed to do so by the authorities,” he says. “Around 95% of the visitors to our properties are coming via border crossing points, so they already go through the sensors at immigration. To put them through sensors every time they go through a door once they’re in Macau I think might be overdoing things,” he explains. Neither are the Macau authorities planning to organise the kind of mass quarantine seen at the Metropark Hotel in Wanchai, Hong Kong, where the unfortunate Mexican traveller briefly stayed. Given the number of hotel rooms in Macau and the resources available to the government in terms of the emergency and health services, the government has decided at this stage that a mass quarantine would not be practicable. Ever since SARS, it has been routine for food preparation staff in restaurant chains such as Café de Coral in Hong Kong to wear face- masks. Mr Carruthers says that at StarWorld strict standards are also enforced for kitchen staff. “The standards of hygiene in our food preparation areas are always extremely high. Now it’s about continuous reinforcement of those very high standards,” he states. “I think long term some good comes out of these events because people in general become that much more aware of the need to observe good personal hygiene at all times,” he adds. “We will continue to provide daily updates to management and staff regarding the latest developments on the pandemic globally, regionally and specifically in Macau,” states Mr Carruthers. Prized assets “Our most important assets are our customers and our employees. It takes an awful long time to build customer loyalty and the loyalty of your staff. It takes considerable cost and time to train, maintain and develop your employees. It’s in our very best interests to ensure we’re taking the best possible care of those major stakeholders in the business. “This is not about being seen to do the right thing because it’s expected by the media or by the government. It’s a very necessary part of how we run and maintain our business.” Macau Airport