Shanghai, Nov. 1 (BUS): The Shanghai Disney Resort abruptly halted operations Monday to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures, directing all visitors at the time of the announcement to stay in the park until they return with a negative test for the virus. .
The resort said at 11:39 a.m. that it would immediately close the main park and surrounding areas including the shopping street until further notice to comply with virus restrictions.
The Shanghai government said on its official WeChat account that the park is preventing people from entering or leaving, and that all visitors within the site will need to wait for their test results before they can leave.
She added that anyone who has been to the park since October 27 will need to be tested for COVID-19 three times in three days.
Social media users reported that the park continued to play games for visitors stuck in the park during the closure on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Shanghai Disney Resort said the resort was still operating with “limited offerings” and that they were following procedures in line with guidelines from Chinese health authorities.
On Saturday, the resort had said it had begun operating a reduced workforce to comply with COVID measures.
Shanghai reported 10 locally transferred cases on October 30, all of which said they were asymptomatic people.
The shutdown marks the latest disruption to the Shanghai Disney Resort, which was closed for more than three months during the Shanghai lockdown earlier this year.
The park was also closed for two days in November last year with more than 30,000 visitors stuck inside, after authorities ordered them all to be screened in a contact tracing exercise.
Videos circulating on China’s Weibo platform on Monday showed people rushing to the park’s gates, which were already closed.
Reuters could not verify the authenticity of the videos, and the Shanghai Disney Resort did not respond when asked how many visitors were inside.
Local authorities across China have continued to impose sudden and extreme measures to reduce any possibility of virus transmission once cases emerge, in line with the country’s strict zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
The Universal Resort in the country’s capital reopened on Monday, after a five-day closure, also spurred by virus measures.
MI