Thousands tested for Covid as Shanghai Disneyland in snap lockdown

A single confirmed case sent Shanghai Disneyland park, and its adjacent shopping district, Disneytown, into a snap lockdown Sunday evening, CNN reported.

Health workers in hazmat suits are not typically among the cast of characters featured at Shanghai Disneyland's Halloween party.

The extreme measure saw tens of thousands of visitors and staff forced to undergo coronavirus testing before they were allowed to leave the park, as police blocked the exits and secured the grounds, the report said.

In a video that's since gone viral on Chinese social media, crowds are shown lining up in front of makeshift testing sites, as health workers in full personal protective equipment (PPE) watch on. In the background colourful fireworks light up the night sky above a storybook castle.


The surreal juxtaposition of an impromptu mass testing drive and a Disney fireworks show is the latest example of how China's stringent zero-Covid policy has permeated every corner of Chinese citizens' lives, the report said.

As countries around the world gradually open up and learn to live with the coronavirus, China remains bent on completely eradicating Covid-19 from inside its borders, deploying massive efforts and resources to stamp out even a single case.

As of Monday morning, 33,863 people who were at Shanghai Disneyland and Disneytown over the weekend had been tested, and all results came back negative, according to the Shanghai government. But state media said about 100,000 people had visited the park at the weekend, citing sources, the report added.


Both Disneyland and Disneytown will remain closed on Monday and Tuesday "in order to follow the requirement of Covid-19 prevention and control," the resort said in the statement. The subway station connected to Disney has also been closed until further notice - IANS