Medical personnel test visitors for the coronavirus at Disneyland in Shanghai on Sunday after a single COVID-19 case was detected at the park over the weekend.
AFP via Getty Images
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AFP via Getty Images
Medical personnel test visitors for the coronavirus at Disneyland in Shanghai on Sunday after a single COVID-19 case was detected at the park over the weekend.
AFP via Getty Images
Shanghai health authorities say they have tested nearly 34,000 people in a single night for COVID-19 at Shanghai’s Disneyland.
On Sunday evening, the city suddenly closed Shanghai Disneyland and banned anyone inside from leaving. They also shut down the metro station that services the theme park. The park said they did so to cooperate with a contact tracing investigation after a woman who visited the park Saturday later tested positive for the coronavirus in neighboring Jiangxi province.
Shanghai announced on Monday that all of the guests who had been tested over the weekend came back negative for COVID-19, according to the Associated Press. Authorities said they will have to be tested again, the outlet reported.
Chinese media says an estimated 100,000 people visited the park Saturday and Sunday, all of whom will now need to be tested.
On Chinese social media, frustrated park-goers posted short videos showing thousands of people waiting outside overnight as health workers wearing hazmat suits conducted COVID tests. One showed fireworks exploding in the night sky above throngs of police, public health workers and park guests.
Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown remained closed on Monday and Tuesday, and officials promised to provide refunds or exchanges to any attendees impacted by the closure.
“We will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations,” Shanghai Disney Resort said in a notice on its website. “Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!”
China closed its borders early in the COVID-19 pandemic to stem the spread of the disease, and it has since imposed citywide lockdowns and other strict public health measures to keep the country’s infection rate low.
An earlier version of this story originally appeared on the Morning Edition live blog.