Thousands Stranded As Chinese Tourist Island Expands Lockdown

China’s Hainan, an island province dependent on tourism, locked down more areas on Monday, state media reported, as it battles its worst coronavirus outbreak after seeing very few cases the past two years compared with many other regions in the country.

The island in the South China Sea, which recorded just two local symptomatic COVID-19 cases last year, has reported more than 1,400 domestically transmitted infections this month, including 982 symptomatic ones. Although that is small by global standards, it is the province’s biggest outbreak since the virus was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019.

The sharp increase in cases comes amid a pick-up in interest in tourism after China slightly eased curbs aimed at domestic travel, accounting for the shorter incubation period of the omicron variant, which facilitates a shorter quarantine time.

However, the curbs in Hainan, in line with China’s “dynamic Covid-zero” policy that aims to stamp out outbreaks as soon as possible, point to persistent uncertainty shrouding travel.

That may further dampen confidence in the tourism and hospitality sectors, which are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 restrictions.

The provincial capital city of Haikou, with about 2.9 million residents, and two smaller towns, Ledong and Chengmai, locked down its residents on Monday, according to state media reports.

At least eight cities and towns, with a combined population of about 7 million, said their residents must not leave where they live except for necessary reasons such as COVID-19 tests, grocery shopping or essential job roles. They also suspended public transport services.