Covid outbreak: Tropical Sanya, ‘China’s Hawaii’ locked down, trapping 80,000 tourists | World News

BEIJING: Chinese authorities on Saturday indefinitely locked down the beach resort city of Sanya, often called “China’s Hawaii”, trapping at least 80,000 tourists in an effort to curb a fast-spreading Covid-19 outbreak.

Authorities ordered a “static management of the whole city”, banning public transport and restricting the mobility of residents in Sanya from Saturday morning.

Sanya, a city of more than 1 million people, is a tourist hotspot and the capital of Hainan province, off the country’s southern coast.

It’s the latest challenge for the Chinese government to balance its strict “zero Covid” or “dynamic clearance” policy and economic growth. The lockdown is likely to badly hit domestic tourism, only gradually picking up in the backdrop of China’s strict Covid policies.

The city until Saturday morning had reported 455 Covid-19 cases since August 1 when the ongoing outbreak was detected.

Mass tests across the city have been launched.

The curbs were implemented at 6 am on Saturday with the authorities saying that the outbreak situation was “very severe”.

“We urge the general public and tourists to understand and give their support,” the Sanya government announced on social media.

He Shigang, Sanya’s deputy mayor was quoted by state media as saying that more than 80,000 tourists are currently staying in Sanya.

People must have two negative PCR tests taken within 48 hours to leave Sanya, He told national broadcaster, CCTV.

With air ticket prices shooting up, it wasn’t clear how everyone stranded in the city would be able to return in time.

Targetted lockdown measures were put in place in Sanya, known for its beaches and tropical climate, on Thursday as the number of cases gradually went up.

By Friday, most outdoor venues, including restaurants, bars and the city’s popular duty-free malls were ordered shut.

“The cluster outbreak in Sanya has spread within the province, and the virus strain is the Omicron BA5.1.3 variant, which was reported for the first time domestically with hidden and strong transmission,” Li Wenxiu with Hainan’s health commission told the state-run Global Times tabloid.

Chinese authorities are also dealing with another outbreak in the city of Yiwu, considered a global hub for small commodities and located in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

Mass testing in the city is under way, local reports said, adding that bus services have been suspended until at least August 8.

Local authorities have advised residents not to leave Yiwu unless necessary and are also asking citizens from other areas not to enter the city.

Residents who need to leave Yiwu must present a green health code and a negative nucleic acid test result taken within 24 hours.

“Yiwu reported its first four confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the latest outbreak on August 2, just days after a chartered flight carrying 163 merchants from Pakistan landed in the city as part of efforts to reopen markets to overseas buyers,” the South China Morning Post reported, quoting a local official newspaper Jinhua Daily.

According to the newspaper, the city is also looking to arrange flights to fly in Indian merchants.

Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *