China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is to reopen its casinos on Thursday after they were shut down for half a month due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, said a senior official Monday.

The casinos would be reopen on Feb. 20, according to the instruction by the SAR chief executive Ho Iat Seng and relevant laws, Lei Wai Nong, the secretary for economy and finance of the Macao SAR government told the press.

The casinos' operators could also apply for suspension of reopening for at most 30 days if they were not ready by Feb. 20, Lei added.

Macao has not reported any new case of the novel coronavirus for 13 consecutive days since Feb. 5.