Macau closes casinos for 2 weeks amid coronavirus outbreak

Macau has closed down its casinos for at least two weeks.
Imagine Las Vegas doing the same.... then magnify that a few times over and you'll start to get a picture.
That's just happened in Macau Asia's gambling capital because of coronavirus fears.
Tourists from mainland China have plunged since the outbreak and this is a body-blow because a significant percentage of Macau's economy is linked to its casinos and their related activities.
I'm joined live on Skype by Macau-based journalist, Jose Carlos Matias, who writes for a number of Macau and Portuguese publications and is the Editor-in Chief of Plata-forma.
Jose, just give us a sense of how massive of a decision it was to suspend the operations of casinos for two full weeks if not more it is going to have huge ramifications for Macau, right?
Macau has confirmed about 10 cases of the coronavirus so far. A fair amount, but considering its geographical proximity to mainland China you might argue it is not that many. Were the people there shocked when Macau's Chief Executive made this announcement on Tuesday? Was this something that was brewing or came completely out of the blue?
Macau's casinos employ tens of thousands of people and almost the entire population has its income tied to the establishments in one way or the other. What arrangements have been made to ensure casino workers are not left to fend for themselves financially while the casinos are closed?
Finally, what's the atmosphere like there regarding the dangers posed by the coronavirus? Has it spooked people so much that the streets have cleared out like many other major urban areas in and around the Chinese mainland?
Ok, thanks for your insights. We appreciate it. That was Jose Carlos Matias reporting from Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, which asked casinos to temporarily close to halt the spread of coronavirus

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