From January 5, the US will require COVID-19 tests for travelers coming from China.

The US said today that starting next week, COVID-19 tests will be done on everyone coming from China.

Tests of the US COVID-19 China Macau casino Las Vegas

On December 12, 2022, travelers check in at Shanghai’s Hongqiao International Airport following China’s domestic travel liberalization. Since China made it easier for its citizens to go overseas, the US has reinstated testing for Chinese visitors.

COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in China after President Xi Jinping revoked his “zero-COVID” policy. Thus, the US is reimposing Chinese traveler testing. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention restarted the testing in part because the People’s Republic wasn’t being transparent.

According to a CDC statement, the increase of COVID-19 infections in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the lack of epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data from the PRC prompted the CDC to take this step to stop the spread of the virus in the U.S. “These data are crucial to track the growth in cases and reduce the risk of a new strain of concern.”

The CDC said that the requirement to test starts at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on Thursday, January 5. The federal health agency plans to keep an eye on the situation and change the rules for entry as needed.

Not good for Baccarat

The casinos in Nevada are making more money than ever. Each of the last 20 months, the state’s gaming revenue has been more than $1 billion, which is a record.

Nevada is well on its way to breaking the record for the most money made from gambling in a year in 2022. In the first 10 months of this year, state casinos have made $12.3 billion. The most money the state’s casinos ever made was $13.42 billion, which was just last year. With only two months left for casinos to report, a new GGR ceiling for the year is almost a sure thing.

Even though casinos are busy and gamblers are losing more than ever, there are still some things that Las Vegas Strip casinos could do better with their Asian customers. Even though gambling income is going up all over the state, baccarat income is only a little bit higher than it was before the 2019 pandemic.

Asian Gamblers

Asian high-stakes gamblers like to play baccarat. Baccarat takes up more floor space in Macau than any other table game or slot machine. This is the only place in China where commercial casino gambling is allowed.

Having travelers from China take the COVID-19 test could cut down on some of the demand for international travel from Chinese mainlanders who might have gone to Southern Nevada instead.

People from China, Hong Kong, or Macau who are going to the US must take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or an antigen rapid self-test within two days of leaving for the US. The self-tests must be watched over by a telehealth service or a doctor who has been given permission to do so by the Chinese health authorities.

Before you can get on the plane, you have to show the airline the negative test result. If a test is positive, the individual will not be allowed to board the plane to the United States.

China Importance

Chinese people have been coming to Las Vegas for a long time and are one of the largest groups of international visitors.

In 2017, more than 260,000 Chinese people moved to Southern Nevada, which was a record high for the feeder market, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA).

In a year without a pandemic, about 4–5% of all international visitors to Las Vegas come from China. About 70% of the trips abroad are to Canada and Mexico.