Beijing [China]: In a Shanghai-style lockdown, China’s Sanya, a beach resort destination in Hainan Province, has put tens of thousands of tourists under strict lockdown and shifted all passenger flights to and from the city following a Covid-19 outbreak, media reports said.
Around 80,000 tourists are still in Sanya, China’s state broadcaster quoted a local official as saying on Saturday, reported Wall Street Journal. This is a Shanghai Deja Vu especially owing to the anger and anxiety among the stranded tourists. Over 1,200 Covid cases, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, had been confirmed in Sanya as of noon Monday. The initial case was reported on August 1, as per the media portal citing the city government.
Shanghai residents, at the hands of China’s Zero-Covid policy, were subjected to similar kind of unprecedented neglect, mistreatment, and abuse, with leaked videos on social media confirming blatant human rights violations and severe coronavirus measures.
China seems to be devising the same tactic in Sanya in an effort to stem the spread of the virus from the city. Chinese officials told tourists not to leave the island on which Sanya is located.
Sanya’s Phoenix airport is shut down as of Monday, according to a representative on the airport’s customer hotline, after nearly all passenger flights to and from Sanya, which is located on an island, have been canceled since Saturday, as per the media portal.
The measures taken are such that in the resort city, people in high-risk areas are not allowed to leave their homes and hotels, while those in mid-risk areas can only leave for Covid testing or to accept deliveries.
Mass testing is under way and several other cities on Hainan island, the southern province that is home to Sanya, have been placed under lockdown, according to government announcements. Medical workers from elsewhere in the nation have been called into Hainan to help manage the situation.
Sanya is the most desired summer holiday season destination however now the city is instilling fears in the government that travellers could scatter infections across the country as they return to their homes.
