On October 31, 2022 all guests at Shanghai Disneyland were locked down due to a single case of COVID-19. Reuters quoted city authorities as saying the resort shut its gates after authorities became aware of a 31-year-old woman who had visited the park in recent days testing positive for the coronavirus. Some rides kept running as guests were trapped in the happiest place on earth. No one could leave until they showed a negative COVID test. The city health bureau announced that all guests in the park tested negative and all guests could leave by 8:30pm.
There were 10 reported cases in Shanghai on October 29, 2022. Shanghai then decided they must screen 400,000 people. President Xi Jinping‘s government has remained committed to a “Zero COVID” policy while the rest of the world had dropped most COVID safety precautions.
The city government appealed to anyone who had visited the Shanghai Disney Resort since October 27, 2022 to undergo three days of nucleic acid testing and avoid gathering in groups.
The snap closure of Shanghai Disney came just two days after the park began operating at a reduced capacity to comply with Covid measures.