Opening of Shanghai Disneyland 'huge risk' for city as China remains on high alert for virus second wave
Disney in Shanghai re-opened on Monday as Wuhan confirmed six new cases of Covid-19 and Shulan north was put back into lockdown.
The first event was meant to be a signal that people here are not only out of lockdown but having fun again.
But the second and third events show China is not out of the woods yet.
And as an indication of just how desperate the Government is to put a lid on this pandemic, a local official in Wuhan was unceremonious sacked for not doing a better job in anti-virus control.
The Disney resort in Shanghai was shut on January 24, the same day Wuhan went into lockdown.
It was the first of Disney’s resorts to close and it follows that it is the first to reopen.
When tickets went on sale, Monday's opening day sold out in three minutes; the rest of the week in under an hour.
An indication of how popular the resort is in China, and how much people are craving the entertainment and distraction a visit to Disney provides.
Initially it’s only running at a fifth of its usual capacity, but that’s still 20,000 people a day.
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It’s also operating with ‘’enhanced safety measures’’ which include temperature screening at the entrance to the park and proof of at least 14 days of good health which is given via an app on your phone.
They are trying to enforce social distancing but on the opening day it seemed this was rather lapse.
We saw lots of people sitting together in the eating and rest areas, and queues where the distancing rules were not being strictly enforced.
We also saw some rides being wiped down in between rounds, but not others, and the hand sanitisers were not being routinely used either.
Everyone, big and small, was however adhering to the strict mask wearing policy, although that is still being adhered to as a wider society rule too.
This is a huge test, and a risk for Shanghai.
They’ve had no new local cases since March and the city has only recorded 659 Covid-19 cases since the start of the outbreak and seven deaths.
Like Beijing, the financial capital of China was put under a strict quarantine at the beginning of February and has only in recent weeks begun to relax the rules, allowing more businesses to re-open and pupils to return to school.
At the same time, test centres have sprung up where people can go to get checked for Covid-19 and receive a certificate to take to their work as an additional proof of good health.
There are multiple layers of checks on everyone currently in China.
To check into our hotel here in Shanghai we had to present a health code on our phones to shows we have been without fever or any symptoms for at least the past 14 days.
Of course, for our team it also shows we have been in Wuhan but been tested and give the Covid-19 all clear.
There are still new cases in China, perhaps more than are being reported, but the country is taking every precaution to prevent a second wave of infection.
At Disney on Monday, 20,000 people got to think about something else.
To enjoy being free and escape to a different world.