Visitors trapped inside Shanghai Disney resort after Covid lockdown

Shanghai Disney Resort experienced a snap lockdown after Covid-19 was found in the city. Photo / Getty Images

Visitors were trapped inside Shanghai’s Disney Resort under a snap Covid lockdown, but were allowed to use the rides as they awaited a negative test in order to leave.

The attraction closed abruptly yesterday after 10 cases of coronavirus were discovered in the city, with all visitors locked in the theme park until they were given the all-clear.

The city government said that those who had visited the park since Thursday must obtain three negative Covid tests over three successive days and “avoid participating in group activities”.

Online videos showed visitors rushing to the gate trying to avoid being stuck in the park, and a large number of people lined up for taking tests.In some unverified videos, visitors were seen shouting “open the gate” at hundreds of guards outside.

It came a day after videos emerged from inside Foxconn, the biggest iPhone maker in Zhengzhou city, showing workers climbing over fences to avoid a similar snap lockdown.

Workers escaping the factory trekked across fields and highways, some of them walking two days and nights to get to their hometowns without being trapped by authorities.

Disney warned that it was “temporarily closing with immediate effect... in accordance with disease control requirements”. The sprawling 960-acre theme park and resort includes Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park. The resort had previously said that it was operating at reduced capacity due to Covid restrictions.

”We will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations,” Disney said. The centre 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.

China reported 2699 local Covid infections yesterday, including 10 asymptomatic cases in Shanghai.

The Daily Telegraph - Telegraph Media Group