All flights from the island have been cancelled, and tickets for the trains running on the island are no longer sold. The reason is a corona outbreak in the holiday resort of Sanya, which has more than a million people. From there, 483 cases of infection were reported on Sunday.
Tourists who want to leave Sanya must now show five negative PCR tests within seven days before being allowed to leave, Chinese health authorities said. Hotels must give guests a 50 percent discount until travel restrictions are lifted. Leisure facilities such as spas or karaoke bars are closed – supermarkets and pharmacies remain open.
Despite the enormous economic damage and increasing disenchantment among the people, the authorities in China are pursuing a strict zero-Covid strategy. Individual outbreaks are immediately dealt with through lockdowns and mass testing.
At the same time as the strict procedure on Hainan, China relaxed the strict corona requirements for international flights. Airlines that have more than four percent of passengers on board who have tested positive for the corona virus when they arrive from abroad only have to suspend their flights on the affected route for a week instead of the previous two weeks. If more than eight percent of all air passengers are positive, the flight ban will last two weeks, according to the aviation authority. In such a case, the airline was previously not allowed to fly on this route for four weeks.
There are only a few flight connections between China and other countries, which are also very expensive and fail again and again. The country is largely sealed off and international tourism has come to a standstill.
Source: Nachrichten
