Shanghai Disneyland first in world to reopen with new coronavirus measures
Beijing, May 11 (efe-epa).- Shanghai Disneyland opened its doors to visitors again on Monday and became the first park of the American brand in the world to resume activity after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The reopening of the theme park in the Chinese financial capital will pave the way for the rest of the branches in France, the United States and Asia that remain shut.
The Shanghai attraction has reopened with a limited daily capacity capped at 30 percent set by the Chinese government along with safety measures such as maintaining physical distancing and mandatory use of masks and temperature checks for visitors and employees.
The $60 entry tickets which went on sale online on Friday were sold out in a few hours.
At access points, yellow marks have been drawn to maintain distance between visitors in queues for entry into the park.
The establishment has also increased the frequency of sanitization of key areas.
In a statement, Disney said that it had placed “new measures and procedures, including opening with limited attendance and required advanced ticketing and reservations, accommodating social distancing in queues, restaurants, ride vehicles and other facilities throughout the park, and implementing increased frequency of cleaning and sanitization”.
Joe Schott, president and general manager of Shanghai Disney Resort, said in the statement: “When the time is right, they will be able to once again welcome guests(other parks around the world).”
Schott told media on Monday that he believed the reopening would “serve as the beacon of light across the globe for providing hope and inspiration for everyone”.
In images shared by Chinese media outlets, dozens of visitors can be seen walking around in the park while employees welcome them.
Last week Disney announced that its gains fell 91 percent in the last quarter due to the pandemic which meant a drop in the revenue of pretax earnings of $1.4 billion.
The Shanghai Disney park and its sister attraction in Hong Kong closed on 25 January, two days after China imposed a lockdown in Wuhan and placed millions into isolation to contain the spread of the virus.
Tokyo’s park also closed in February followed by those in Europe and the US in March.
In the last few days, China has reopened museums and tourist attractions such as Beijing’s Forbidden City, but others such as movie theaters and popular karaoke joints remained shut. EFE-EPA
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