China launches mass testing, closes venues in tourist hubs

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China launches mass testing, closes venues in tourist hubs

China is trying to stamp out Covid 19 outbreaks in the tourist hubs of Tibet and Hainan with the authorities launching more rounds of mass testing and closing venues to contain the highly transmissible Omicron variant as Beijing presses ahead with its Covid zero strategy.

Mainland China reported 828 new domestically transmitted cases across more than a dozen provinces and regions for August 8th, with more than half of them in Hainan, a popular tourist destination, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Tibet, which had previously reported only one symptomatic case since the pandemic started more than two years ago, has also reported cases.

Parts of Tibet were running mass Covid 19 tests on Tuesday, including its two largest cities, Lhasa and Shigatse, where local authorities suspended large events, closed entertainment and religious venues, and shut down some tourist sites, including the Potala Palace.

On 8 August, Tibetan authorities reported one local patient with confirmed symptoms and 21 local asymptomatic infections. The rare infections struck a nerve among some residents, although the case load was very small compared with elsewhere in China and globally.

Although my life and work isn't affected much and Lhasa took actions very quickly, I was still shocked as Tibet had been Covid-free for about 920 days, said Yungchen, a 26-year-old Lhasa resident.

She told Reuters she was worried because she didn't give her full name because she doesn't know when and where the infected people contracted the virus.

Yungchen said she does not expect a months-long lockdown in Lhasa, but she still buys rice and cooking oil. She bought enough to last for four to five days in case she is unable to dine out if Covid restrictions are tightened.

Shigatse, the gateway city to the Everest region in Tibet, has a three day period in which people are banned from entering or leaving, with many businesses suspended.

Both Lhasa and Shigatse were conducting a new round of mass testing, and the second round begins on Wednesday, state television said on Tuesday.

Three towns in Tibet's western Ngari prefecture, a sparsely populated region that attracted many pilgrims to Mount Kailash, started three rounds of mass testing while the rest started on their first, state television said.

Subvariants of Omicron challenge China's strategy of blocking the spread of each nascent cluster.

Tibet and Hainan, which have seen relatively few cases for more than two years, are facing tight restrictions as the economy weakens. Their tourism-reliant economies could be particularly vulnerable if the outbreaks are prolonged.

Millions of residents in tropical Hainan are under lockdown in several cities and towns, only allowed for necessary reasons such as Covid tests, grocery shopping and essential job roles.

Dongfang, a city of over 400,000 residents, entered a three-day lock down on Tuesday. The provincial capital, Haikou, has lifted its lock down that lasted hours on Monday.

According to state media reports, about 178,000 tourists are also stranded on the island. On Tuesday, certain tourists are allowed to leave if they can show negative test results.

The provincial authorities must take all measures to reach Covid zero at the community level where no new cases emerge in communities outside quarantined areas, Hainan s government said late on Monday.

One provincial health official said that Hainan's success in containing smaller clusters in April and July has resulted in complacency among officials and residents.