China's 'Strange Quarantine'... "30,000 Trapped in Disneyland Because of 1 Confirmed Case"

On the 31st of last month (local time), visitors at Shanghai Disneyland in China were waiting to undergo testing for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] One of the world's largest theme parks, Shanghai Disneyland in China, was forced to close both entrances due to a confirmed COVID-19 case.

On the afternoon of the 31st, Shanghai Disneyland suddenly announced a temporary closure. Subsequently, about 34,000 visitors inside the park were unable to leave and had to wait in long lines to undergo COVID-19 testing.

According to the American daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the commotion occurred because a woman who had visited the park the previous day was taken to a hospital on her way home and tested positive.

A visitor posted on social networking services (SNS), "I never imagined that the long line at Disneyland was because of COVID testing." According to Disneyland officials, the last visitor exited at 10:30 PM.

Afterward, visitors were divided into about 200 buses and had to self-isolate for two days until they received a second test. Additionally, approximately 100,000 other visitors who had been to Disneyland must also undergo COVID-19 testing.

On the 31st of last month (local time), medical staff were preparing to test visitors for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) at Shanghai Disneyland in China. / Photo by Yonhap News

WSJ and the British Guardian described the day's chaos as a "surreal" scene while introducing China's quarantine policies. Foreign media reported that "while other countries are shifting to 'With COVID' policies, China is maintaining a strong 'Zero COVID' policy."

CNN analyzed, "With the Winter Olympics scheduled for February next year, China does not want to follow Japan's confusion over whether to hold the Tokyo Olympics, and President Xi Jinping wants to demonstrate the superiority of the current regime by keeping the epidemic under control."

WSJ also noted that China is moving contrary to other countries, highlighting that Australia, which had implemented a 'Zero COVID' policy, opened its borders to its citizens from the 1st, and Thailand also opened its doors to tourists from 60 countries.

Meanwhile, it was reported that all tested visitors were negative.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.