Macau, a gambling hub on China's south coast near Hong Kong, has endured some of the world's most stringent anti-virus controls for nearly three years, writes AP NEWS..

Easing border restrictions after China rolled back its zero-covid strategy in early December is widely expected to boost its tourism-based economy.

But so far, the worst wave of infections in China has kept the crowds of gamblers who usually fill casinos out of Macau.. From December 23 to December 27, an average of just 8,300 people arrived in the city daily, police said.. This is only 68% of the level of November.

On New Year's Eve, the situation improved: on this day, 28,100 visitors arrived in the city, but this is only 66% of the level of a year ago. In 2019, before the pandemic, the daily average was 108,000 people.

China announced last week that it would resume issuing tourist passports, potentially sparking a flood of Chinese going abroad but also escalating competition for Macau..

Businessmen hope that the New Year holidays at the end of January will bring good luck to the territory of 672,000 people, a former Portuguese colony and the only place in China where casinos are allowed..

Recall that in the first 20 days of December, about 250 million people, or 18% of the Chinese population, became infected with Covid-19.. This came amid a sudden lifting of restrictions that had kept the disease at bay for almost three years..