The South China Sea island recorded just two positive symptomatic cases of COVID-19 in the entire past year. Fast forward to this month, however, and the number of cases has suddenly skyrocketed, prompting a lockdown in the city of Sanya and leaving tens of thousands of tourists like Yang stranded on the island. Sanya, the island’s main tourist hub, imposed a lockdown on Saturday and limited transport links to try to contain the outbreak, even though about 80,000 visitors enjoyed its beaches during peak season. Many are now stuck inside hotels until next Saturday, if not longer.
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Story continues below ad Yang, along with her husband and child, stay in a four-star hotel paid for out of pocket. The family eats noodles every day to avoid spending more on food. “This is the worst vacation of my life,” Yang, who is in her 40s and lives in southern China’s Jiangxi province, told Reuters on Sunday. Trending Stories
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Sanya reported 689 symptomatic and 282 asymptomatic cases between August 1 and 7. Other cities around Hainan province, including Danzhou, Dongfan, Lingshui and Lingao, have all reported more than a dozen cases over the same period. 0:43COVID-19: Mass testing underway in Beijing as authorities scramble to contain outbreak COVID-19: Mass testing underway in Beijing as authorities scramble to contain outbreak – June 13, 2022 On Saturday, the sale of train tickets from Sanya was suspended, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the national broadcaster, and more than 80 percent of flights to and from Sanya had been cancelled, according to data provider Variflight. Story continues below ad Hainan has been closed to foreign tourists for the past two and a half years since China, in response to the pandemic, stopped issuing tourist visas and implemented strict quarantine rules.
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Sanya authorities said stranded tourists can leave the island from next Saturday, provided they have taken five tests for COVID and received negative results for all of them. However, Yang said waiting times for test results were long, causing her to take multiple tests a day. “We don’t know who to go to, and the Internet only has positive news about Sanya, such as… the Sanya municipal government has properly resettled the 80,000 stranded tourists… as if the whole country believes that (we) are not victims, but beneficiaries” , he said.
