The President of Peru Francisco Sagasti has revealed that the casino sector could reopen in the next few days, and that the Executive branch already has a decree to authorize them.
The country’s casinos have been shut down since March, despite having a protocol approved by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism (Mincetur).
The sector expected the reactivation in Phase 4, which was supposed to happen in August. However, due to the health emergency in the country and to an indefinite suspension, the implementation of the reopening was delayed, even for casinos that had already reconditioned their venues.
In an meeting with the local press, President Sagasti said: “To reactivate casino operations and gaming halls in the country, we need a special decree, due to the nature of the activity. But it’s already on the way. In the next few days, it will happen.”
In addition, according to local outlet La República, the President of the Association of Tourism and Entertainment Centers of Peru, Carlos Rojas, assured that they still don’t have a specific date to resume operations, but if the Executive branch gives them the nod, more than 40k employees will be able to immediately come back to their jobs.
“At a general level, the sector employs more than 87k people directly. And we assume that with this reopening, more than 40% will come back to their jobs. Gradually, the rest will come back too,” said Rojas.
The protocol, approved by Ministerial Resolution No 196-2020-Mincetur, sets that operations will be able to resume at a 50% capacity. The use of masks will be mandatory and both employees and visitors will need to constantly wash their hands.
In regards to the population at risk, Rojas stressed that they will follow what the Executive recommends: “The average age of our clients is between 38 and 52 years old, but if they tell us that people over 60 years old cannot [access the casinos], we will respect [the decision].”
