China Disneyland closed after rising COVID-19 cases

The Shanghai Disney Resort closed Monday as COVID-19 cases in China’s financial hub hit a record high due to the Omicron variant.

"Due to the current pandemic situation, Shanghai Disney Resort, including Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park will be temporarily closed starting Monday, March 21, 2022," it said in a statement Sunday, reports Reuters.

"We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation and consult local authorities, and will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations," it added.

China is facing outbreaks across the country due to the highly contagious omicron variant, which is testing the limits of the “COVID-zero” policy implemented to contain the initial outbreak in Wuhan.

Shanghai reported 24 new domestically transmitted symptomatic cases Sunday and 734 local asymptomatic cases, according to official data. This is the fourth day Shanghai’s local asymptomatic cases has increased, according to Reuters.

The city has quickly followed China’s “dynamic clearance” policy, where residential districts are locked down to different degrees depending on confirmed cases and risk. The strategy is meant to keep cases restricted to small areas, but Shanghai’s approach has been criticized by netizens as unevenly implemented. Others complained that they had not been told how long they would have to stay home, or under what conditions they would be free.

"Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen have had three different epidemic response models," said a user of China's Twitter-like Weibo network, according to Reuters. "Hong Kong is the worst but will be the first to open up. Shenzhen is the most effective, and Shanghai may be the most tiring, and even the most miserable."

The manufacturing hub of Shenzhen has allowed work and public transportation to resume in most areas after local case numbers dropped following three rounds of city-wide testing.

Hong Kong’s stringent COVID guidelines have come under fire. It was one of the most successful cities in the world at containing coronavirus until omicron, which ripped through its unvaccinated elderly population.