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SANYA, CHINA – AUGUST 06: An empty street is seen as Sanya imposes city-wide static control to curb new COVID-19 outbreak on August 6, 2022 in Sanya, Hainan Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)
BEIJING (AP) – Some 80,000 tourists are stranded in the southern Chinese beach resort of Sanya, after authorities declared it a COVID-19 hot spot and imposed a lockdown.
The restrictions came into force on Saturday morning, as authorities sought to stem the spread of COVID-19 in the city on tropical Hainan Island. There were 229 confirmed cases on Friday and an additional 129 on Saturday.
China’s ruling Communist Party sticks steadfastly to a “zero-COVID” approach that is increasingly at odds with the rest of the world. A recent outbreak in Shanghai spread so widely that authorities locked down the entire city, China’s largest, for two months, trapping millions of people and dealing a blow to the national economy.
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Railway authorities banned all ticket sales in Sanya while all flights were also canceled on Saturday.
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Tourists wanting to depart Sanya have to test negative for the coronavirus on five PCR tests over seven days, authorities said.
Meanwhile, hotels will offer guests a 50% discount during the lockdown period, a city official said during a news briefing.
The lockdown comes during a peak tourism season in Sanya, which is famous for its resorts and beaches.
