Yahoo News Thousands trapped as Shanghai Disneyland suddenly shuts gates amid COVID outbreak
Thousands of holidaymakers were prevented from leaving Shanghai's Disney Resort on Monday after authorities declared a COVID-19 outbreak in the city and abruptly closed the theme park.
Tourists were told to queue to take COVID tests, and informed they would need to produce a negative result before being allowed to leave the park.
The closure is in accordance with strict lockdown rules after 10 people testing positive in Shanghai on Sunday, all with no symptoms.
Shanghai authorities said on its official WeChat account the park was barring people from entering or exiting and that all visitors inside the site would need to await the results of their tests before they could leave.
People who visited the park from Thursday and returned home have been told they must quarantine until they have produced three negative tests in three days.
Videos circulating on China's Weibo platform on Monday showed people rushing to the park's gates after the announcement, but the gates were already locked.
Social media posts from people stuck in the park on Monday suggested that Disney continued to operate some rides for visitors stuck in the park during the closure.
A Shanghai Disney Resort spokesperson said it was still operating "limited offerings" and that they were following measures in line with guidelines from Chinese health authorities.
On Saturday, the resort said that it had started operating with a reduced workforce to comply with COVID measures.
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Local authorities across China have continued to impose abrupt and extreme measures to cut any possibility of virus transmission once cases arise, in line with the country's ultra-strict zero-tolerance approach towards coronavirus.
The closure marks the latest disruption for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which was shut for over three months during a 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 all of them to be tested in a contact tracing exercise.
The Universal Resort in China's capital of Beijing reopened on Monday after a five day closure, also prompted by virus measures.
