Thousands suddenly locked inside Shanghai Disneyland over COVID case

因冠狀病毒案例，數千人突然被鎖在上海迪士尼樂園內

Fireworks fly over Shanghai Disney as visitors forced to undergo testing


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Shanghai Disneyland suddenly shut its gates on Halloween (Oct. 31) and tens of thousands of visitors were forced to remain inside until they completed a COVID test.

On Sunday evening, the resort abruptly announced that Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown would be closed "in order to follow the COVID-19 prevention and control requirement," according to a statement issued by the company. However, those still inside the park at the time were told that they had to undergo testing before they would be allowed to leave.

In a surreal scene that surfaced on social media, fireworks can be seen flying over the park with tranquil music playing over the speakers while people are made to undergo COVID testing by workers in full hazmat suits. Another video shows throngs of workers in full PPE streaming across the park while a guard stands in front of an iron gate keeping park-goers inside.

According to Chinese state-run mouthpiece CGTN, the resort was shut down after a confirmed COVID case was found to have visited on Saturday (Oct. 30). The confirmed infection, reportedly a woman from Jiangxi Province who had been listed as a contact of another case, visited Shanghai Disneyland Saturday and tested positive for the disease Sunday afternoon while in nearby Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province.

As of Monday morning (Nov. 2), 33,863 visitors of Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown had tested negative and 920 items and samples from the area had been collected and also found to be negative for the virus. A total of 100,000 visitors are estimated to have visited the resort over the weekend, according to state-operated media.

Visitors were required to undergo testing again 24 hours after leaving the park. They were not forced to enter centralized quarantine but were required to self-isolate, monitor their health, and undergo testing again in two weeks.

The amusement park is to remain closed through Tuesday (Nov. 2) to implement epidemic prevention and control measures.