More than 30,000 visitors to Shanghai Disneyland were forced to stay within the park on Sunday and required to take a COVID-19 test to gain their liberty from the Magic Kingdom after a single guest tested positive for COVID-19. The draconian response is a vivid illustration of China’s ongoing “COVID Zero” approach to the pandemic, a policy that has sparked growing unrest in the country as the more transmissible Delta variant makes total containment more challenging.
Disney’s sprawling Shanghai park, the company’s second-largest in the world, became the site of endless lines for nasal swabs rather than roller coasters late into the night on Sunday, according to reports on the ground.
“I never thought that the longest queue in Disneyland would be for a nucleic acid test,” said one visitor on social media according to The Wall Street Journal. Disney told the Journal the last guest wasn’t able to leave the park until 10:30 p.m. All Disneyland staff were required to submit to testing as well. According to government statements, none of the people tested on Sunday came up positive for COVID-19.
The Hollywood Reporter has asked Disney for comment.
Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
