Resorts World Genting (RWG) has taken another step back, announcing they will close entirely between January 22 and February 4. The closure was forced by Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), restricting intrastate travel in a bid to reduce Covid-19 transmission.
On their website, the operator notes, “Essential resort-based services such as security, bomba, utilities and clinics will remain operational.” Otherwise though, casinos and resort services will be unavailable. Guests have been offered a phone number to call if they need to change their reservation dates, or if they with to request a refund.
Malaysia was forced to implement their MCO on January 13, due to a new spike in Covid-19 cases. The continuing spread of the virus has now forced the government to extend the MCO to all states, except Sarawak, and extend the travel ban to February 4. The Ministry of Health reports 4,008 cases in the 24 hours leading up to January 21, bringing the pandemic tally to 169,379. 630 have died of the virus.
“The MCO standard operating procedures are the same as I have announced before. That means residents are not allowed out, except for two from one household for daily necessities, including emergency cases,” said Senior Minister Ismail Sabri.
RWG first announced they would be restricting capacity and operations starting on January 13, following the original announcement of an MCO affecting some states. But with the government telling residents they aren’t allowed out of their house whatsoever, and tourism basically being declared illegal, the decide to close the resort only makes sense.
When discussing the ban originally Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin warned the worrying situation may call for unprecedented measures. Returning to a full-on lockdown, while the “healthcare system is under tremendous pressure,” had to be a consideration. All of this continues to ruin analyst predictions that a recovery was coming to Malaysia. Although the first batch of vaccines are due to arrive next month, a new lockdown, and the messy vaccine rollouts that have been seen through the rest of the world, can’t be good for business.
