Shanghai Disney Resort in China has locked visitors in. They can't get out till testing Covid negative
The Shanghai Disney Resort faced a sudden closure on Monday with visitors trapped inside. (photo-DailyO)
In China's Shanghai, the Disney Resort is having quite a Halloween today as its visitors are trapped inside. (At this point, we're not even sure whether it's a Halloween prank or if this theatre of the absurd is playing out for real -- but knowing China, the latter is probably true.)
Why: To comply with Covid precautions in lieu of increasing cases (no one is a stranger to China's unbelievably strict Zero-Covid laws), the theme park decided to cease all operations with no time given for the visitors to exit at the time of this announcement.
No warning: Instead, the "locked-in" people are asked to stay inside the park until they test negative for the virus!
Surprise, surprise: The resort made a surprise announcement at 11:39 am (9:09 am IST) shutting down the main park and surrounding areas including the shopping street.
Interestingly, as social media users reported, the park still operated rides for the ones stuck in the park.
The bigger picture: China's Zero Covid policy has faced criticism both in the country and abroad. People have been battling bizarre guidelines and super-strict rules set by the Chinese government to ensure Zero Covid - a war that China increasingly seems to be losing.