TAIPEI — As visitors to Shanghai Disneyland waited for COVID-19 results, fireworks erupted. They were surrounded by white protective suits-clad health care workers.
Shanghai Disneyland abruptly announced Sunday night that it would no longer accept new visitors. It was also cooperating with an epidemiological investigation coming from another province. The park was then closed while Shanghai’s city health workers and police conducted mass testing on the visitors who were already in the area.
Shanghai Disneyland stated Monday that the park will be closed Monday and Tuesday after testing everyone. The park continues to cooperate in pandemic prevention efforts.
China’s determination to enforce its zero-tolerance pandemic prevention strategy has been demonstrated by the park’s abrupt lockdown and temporary closing.
Many countries around the world have taken to living with the virus. This is either out of necessity or choice. However, as more people are infected, so do their health systems, resulting in additional deaths and overburdening them.
China has maintained its borders closed since March 2020. The response was to reduce the spread of the virus. With a strict quarantine-on-arrival policy, the authorities have aimed to stamp out each local outbreak to zero — helping China keep its reported totals to 4,636 deaths and 97,243 cases since the pandemic began.
Disneyland may have taken action because of a case involving a person who was suffering from a disease that was found in Hangzhou, a nearby city. He had visited Disneyland on Saturday, local media reported.
Tens of thousands of visitors and families remained in the park for hours as they waited for negative results that would allow them leave.
Monday morning, the city announced that all 33.863 people who visited the park over the weekend had failed to test positive for COVID-19. They will be asked for a second test and their health monitored.
A Disney fan named Chen claimed that she was in the park when she heard that everyone had to be tested.
Chen stated that “no one complained and everyone behaved really well.” She stated that she has an annual membership and visits it at least once per month. Before she can return to Beijing, she is currently waiting in a hotel for her COVID-19 second test.
Shanghai Disneyland is the latest example of what Chinese authorities are willing to do to stop the spread.
Beijing Railway officials told Jinan health authorities to stop a train traveling from Shanghai to Beijing last Thursday because one of its passengers was close to someone who had been positive for COVID-19.
Jinan’s health authorities sent transport workers, police and health care workers to rush to the station to disinfect the train and quarantine passengers. They quarantined 212 persons, including close contacts.
