Shanghai Disneyland reopens after third Covid closure of year
Shanghai, China, Dec 8 (EFE).- Shanghai Disneyland reopened Thursday after it closed last month for the third time this year due to Covid-19 outbreaks.
The theme park had already closed for almost three months in the spring, during a lockdown in Shanghai, and for just under a month in November, before suspending operations again on Nov. 29, just four days after reopening.
In recent days, state media has downplayed the risks of the Omicron variant, while the government has relaxed of some of the strictest measures of its ‘zero-Covid’ policy, which has been in force for almost three years.
The authorities have said that the “conditions” are in place for the country to adjust its measures in this “new situation” in which the virus causes fewer deaths, although they have also announced a plan to speed up vaccination of the elderly, one of the most vulnerable groups that at the same time is more reluctant to be inoculated.
On Wednesday, Beijing announced that it will allow asymptomatic cases or those with mild symptoms to isolate at home instead of a quarantine center, and indicated that it will no longer be necessary to have a negative Covid test to enter most public places and establishments, with the exception of hospitals and schools.
The changes came after 10 people died in a fire in a locked-down apartment block in Urumqi, which sparked protests across China over harsh Covid restrictions, with demonstrators shouting slogans such as “I don’t want a PCR, I want to eat” and “Give me back my freedom.”
The government claims that it has saved millions of lives through its ‘zero-Covid’ policy, which consists of the isolation of all infected and their close contacts, strict border controls, partial or total lockdowns in places where cases are detected and consistent mass PCR testing.
The country registered 21,439 new cases Wednesday, of which 17,360 are asymptomatic, the National Health Commission reported Thursday. EFE
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