Fireworks boomed as greater than 33,000 guests at Shanghai Disneyland waited — and waited — for obligatory COVID-19 check outcomes, surrounded by well being employees dressed from head to toe in white protecting fits.
Shanghai Disneyland introduced out of the blue Sunday night that it was now not accepting any new guests and was cooperating with an epidemiological investigation from one other province. It then locked down the park as Shanghai metropolis well being care employees and police rushed to conduct a mass testing of the guests already inside.
After testing everybody, the park will stay shut on Monday and Tuesday because it continues to cooperate with pandemic prevention efforts, Shanghai Disneyland mentioned in an announcement Monday.
The park’s sudden lockdown and non permanent closure underscored simply how critical China is about implementing its zero-tolerance pandemic prevention technique.
Globally, many international locations have turned to dwelling with the virus, whether or not out of selection or necessity, though as virus surges come and go, many face overburdened well being care methods and extra deaths.
Disney in October introduced it was relaunching indoor visits with costumed characters at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, after placing the custom on maintain over the previous 12 months attributable to COVID-19. Nonetheless, visitor have been requested to maintain their social distance when taking selfies with the characters, as hugs and autographs aren’t but allowed.
In China, which has stored its borders sealed since March 2020, the response has been to chop the chain of transmission of the virus as shortly as attainable. With a strict quarantine-on-arrival coverage, the authorities have aimed to stamp out every native outbreak to zero — serving to China maintain its reported totals to 4,636 deaths and 97,243 instances because the pandemic started.
Critics have described China’s COVID coverage as draconian and authoritarian, however it apparently has largely labored to maintain the virus from spreading, and China’s leaders have taken credit score for the success. Consultants say China will doubtless proceed with the identical technique transferring ahead.
One COVID case in Hangzhou
The case which will have prompted Shanghai Disneyland’s actions concerned one individual whose sickness was found within the close by metropolis of Hangzhou and had visited the theme park on Saturday, native media reported.
For hours on Sunday night time, tens of hundreds of households and guests have been caught within the park as they waited for a detrimental check end result that will permit them to go away.
Town introduced Monday morning that each one 33,863 individuals who had been on the park over the weekend had examined detrimental for COVID-19. They are going to be requested to get examined once more and their well being will probably be monitored.
One Disney fan, who gave her household title as Chen, mentioned she was inside the park when she heard an announcement at 5 p.m. that everybody should get examined.
(*1*) Chen mentioned, including that she holds an annual membership and visits the park a minimum of as soon as a month. She is ready at a lodge for her second COVID-19 check earlier than she will return to Beijing.
Wave of lockdowns
China’s response to COVID-19 has been a tidal wave of COVID testing, lockdowns, flight cancellations, postponement of sporting occasions and a rush to develop a booster shot to focus on the Delta variant.
Shanghai Disneyland is simply the most recent instance of how far Chinese language authorities will go to cease the unfold of the virus.
Final Thursday, Beijing Railway authorities instructed well being authorities in Jinan to halt a practice that was touring from Shanghai to Beijing as a result of one passenger was a detailed contact of somebody who had examined optimistic for COVID-19.
Jinan well being authorities then despatched well being care employees, transportation employees and police dashing to the station to quarantine the passengers and disinfect the practice. They despatched 212 folks into centralized quarantine, together with the shut contact.
