China is scrambling to stamp out Covid-19 outbreaks in tourist hubs Tibet and Hainan, with authorities launching further rounds of mass testing and closing venues to contain the highly transmissible omicron variant, while Beijing advances its Covid-zero strategy.
Mainland China reported 828 new domestically transmitted cases in more than a dozen provinces and regions as of Aug. 8, more than half of them in Hainan, a popular tourist destination, official data showed on Tuesday.
Tibet, which has reported only one symptomatic case since the pandemic began more than two years ago, has also reported cases.
Parts of Tibet conducted mass testing for Covid-19 on Tuesday, including the two largest cities of Lhasa and Shigatse, where local authorities suspended major events, shut down entertainment and religious facilities and shut down some tourist attractions including the Potala Palace.
Tibetan authorities reported 1 local patient with confirmed symptoms and 21 local asymptomatic infections on August 8. While the number of cases was very small compared to other parts of China and around the world, the rare infections struck a chord with some residents.
“Although my life and work are not affected much and Lhasa took action very quickly, I was still quite shocked since Tibet has been Covid-free for about 920 days,” said Yungchen, a 26-year-old Lhasa resident who was diagnosed with her Employers instructed to work from home.
“I was a bit worried because we don’t know when and where the infected contracted the virus,” she told Portal, preferring not to give her full name.
Yungchen said she doesn’t expect a months-long Shanghai-style lockdown in Lhasa but still bought rice and cooking oil. She bought enough for four to five days in case she can’t eat out when Covid restrictions tighten.
Shigatse, the gateway town to the Everest region in Tibet, has declared a three-day “silence period” during which people are forbidden to enter or exit and many shops are closed.
Both Lhasa and Shigatse conducted a new round of mass testing and the second round will start on Wednesday, state television said Tuesday.
In Tibet’s western Ngari Prefecture, a sparsely populated region that has drawn many pilgrims to Mount Kailash, three cities have launched three rounds of mass tests while the rest have begun their first, state television said.
Omicron subvariants challenge China’s strategy of rapidly blocking the spread of any emerging cluster.
Tibet and Hainan, which have had relatively few cases for more than two years, now face the risk of continued tight restrictions as the economy weakens. Their tourism-dependent economies could be particularly vulnerable if the outbreaks last longer.
A courier stands on an electric bicycle to deliver a delivery across a barricade in Sanya, Hainan province. Photo: China Daily/PortalIn tropical Hainan, millions of residents across multiple cities and towns are under lockdown, only being allowed out for necessary reasons such as Covid testing, grocery shopping and important job roles.
Dongfang, a city of over 400,000 people, entered a three-day lockdown from Tuesday. The provincial capital of Haikou lifted its hour-long lockdown on Monday.
According to state media reports, around 178,000 tourists were also stranded on the island. Hainan said Tuesday certain tourists would be allowed to leave if they had negative test results.
Provincial authorities must take all measures to achieve community-level Covid zero by Friday if no new cases emerge in communities outside the quarantine zones, the Hainan government said in a statement late Monday.
Hainan’s success in containing smaller clusters in April and July has caused complacency among officials and residents, a provincial health official said.