Shanghai Disney guests kept in closed park for virus testing
BEIJING — Shanghai Disneyland was closed and visitors temporarily kept in the park for coronavirus testing, the city government announced, while social media posts said some amusements remained operating for guests who were blocked from leaving.
The park closed Monday for testing of staff and visitors, Walt Disney Co. and the city government announced. No details of a possible outbreak were released.
“All guests have exited the park” following “expedited COVID testing,” Disney said Tuesday in a statement. It did not say when the park might reopen.
While other countries are easing anti-virus measures, China has stuck to a severe “zero COVID” strategy that aims to isolate every infected person. Outbreaks in Shanghai in March led to a shutdown that confined most of its 25 million people to their homes for two months.
On Friday, 1.3 million residents of Shanghai’s downtown Yangpu district were ordered to stay home while they underwent virus tests.
Shanghai is ordering mass testing of all 1.3 million residents of its downtown Yangpu district and confining them to their homes.
The city government appealed to anyone who had visited the Shanghai Disney Resort since Thursday to undergo three days of nucleic acid testing and avoid gathering in groups.
A statement by Disney on Monday said parts of the resort closed because of anti-virus regulations but gave no indication visitors were kept inside. It said Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park were closed while two hotels were operating normally.
Some rides and other amusements kept operating Monday while visitors were tested, according to social media posts.
A video on the popular Sina Weibo platform showed an employee in a mask saying to guests, “Please return and take a tour in the park. The park’s gates are all closed temporarily, and you cannot leave now.”
Another video on Sina Weibo showed technicians in white protective suits who appeared to be taking throat swabs from guests while police watched and a fireworks display lighted up the sky behind them.
“The most beautiful nucleic acid detection point,” the account user wrote.
It’s unclear how long China’s leaders can maintain their zero-COVID strategy without sacrificing the economic growth that is a bedrock of their rule.
“Zero COVID” has kept China’s infection rates relatively low but at a high economic cost as businesses struggle with repeated shutdowns.
In the central city of Zhengzhou, thousands of employees who assemble Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 14 walked away from a factory operated by Taiwan’s Foxconn following outbreaks and complaints about unsafe working conditions.
Foxconn said it has implemented “closed loop management,” the official term for employees living at their workplace and having no outside contact.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
