UPDATE: 6 August: Sanya Phoenix International Airport cancelled all flights scheduled for this afternoon Hainan time.
CHINA. The city of Sanya – the heart of Hainan’s offshore duty free shopping sector – is reeling from a COVID-19 outbreak that has left some 80,000 tourists stranded and forced all three downtown travel retail stores (China Duty Free Group in Haitang Bay and CNSC and HTDF in downtown Sanya) to close.
“Our store and HTDF’s were closed since 4th August. But the situation is getting worse, Sanya has been shut down temporarily since this morning,” a CNSC spokesperson told The Moodie Davitt Report this morning.
“Our store is closed [again since 4 August -Ed] and all staff stay at home. The whole city is under static management,” an HTDF executive confirmed.
China Duty Free Group announced the closure of its key Sanya International Duty Free Shopping Complex and CDF Mall in Haitang Bay yesterday.
As of this morning (6 August), all Haikou stores – China Duty Free Group, GDF Plaza and Times DF (Shenzhen Duty-Free Group and DFS) – are still trading, each retailer confirmed to The Moodie Davitt Report.
According to Hainan state media, Sanya City recorded 40 new confirmed cases and 17 asymptomatic infections yesterday (5 August). From 1 to 5 August, 375 confirmed cases and 62 asymptomatic infections were found.
The Sanya New Coronary Virus Pneumonia Epidemic Prevention and Control Work Headquarters issued a notice that the current epidemic prevention and control situation in Sanya is “very severe”.
Crackdown from 6 August
The local government has introduced strict temporary measures from 6:00 a.m. today (6 August), with city-wide restrictions on movement of people and the suspension of urban public transport. According to our colleagues at Hainan Hinews Media Company (The Moodie Davitt Report’s strategic partner on the island), a press conference of the COVID-19 Prevention and Control Headquarters of Hainan Province will be held at 4p.m. this afternoon.
Various local reports (CCTV, Hainan Daily and XInmen Evening News) reported that the outbreak reveals “obvious clustering” and that it has hit the peak summer tourism season hard.
The reports quoted Sanya Municipal Government Deputy Mayor He Shigang who said that most of the infected people are local residents. The majority of stranded tourists are in Sanya Bay and Yalong Bay, prompting the introduction of daily nucleic acid tests in tourist-concentrated areas to prevent further spread.
He Shigang said that Haitang Bay and Yalong Bay are relatively independent units, so checkpoints have been set up at the intersection between them. Mainland tourists can still arrive and check into their hotels provided they have a valid nucleic acid test certificate.
“We must do our best to ensure that there are no epidemics or cases in these places, and places with more tourists must be strictly controlled to prevent them from being affected by the spread of the epidemic,” he said.
Anyone leaving Sanya City must have two negative nucleic acid certificates within 48 hours to prevent the virus from spreading elsewhere, He Shigang noted.
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