SHANGHAI’S Disney Resort abruptly suspended operations on Monday (Oct 31) to comply with Covid-19 prevention measures, with all visitors at the time of the announcement directed to stay in the park until they tested negative for the virus.

The resort said shortly after 11.30 am local time that it would immediately shut the main theme park and surrounding areas until further notice to comply with virus curbs.

The Shanghai government said on its official WeChat account that the park was barring people from entering or exiting, and that all visitors inside the site would need to await the results of their tests before they could leave.

Anyone who had visited the park since Oct 27 would need to test for Covid-19 three times in three days, it said.

Neither the Shanghai government nor the Disney resort gave further details on the situation. The resort on Saturday said it had started operating with a reduced workforce to comply with Covid-19 measures.

Videos circulating on China’s Weibo platform on Monday showed people rushing to the park’s gates, which were already locked.

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Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the videos, and the Shanghai Disney Resort did not immediately reply to a request for further comment on how many visitors were inside.

The closure marks the latest disruption for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which was shut for over three months during Shanghai’s lockdown earlier this year.

The park was also closed for two days in November last year, with more than 30,000 visitors stuck inside, after authorities ordered all of them to be tested in a contact tracing exercise.

Shanghai reported 10 locally transmitted cases for Oct 30, all of which it said were people without symptoms.

Local authorities across China have continued to impose abrupt and extreme measures to cut any possibility of virus transmission once cases arise, in line with the country’s ultra-strict zero-tolerance approach towards Covid-19.

The Universal Resort in the country’s capital of Beijing reopened on Monday after a five-day closure, which was also prompted by virus measures. REUTERS