COVID-19: Disney Shanghai closed amid China lockdowns

Yahoo Finance’s Anjalee Khemlani discusses the latest on COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions in China.

Video Transcript

[AUDIO LOGO]

INES FERRE: China’s COVID-19 curbs forced the closure of Disney’s Shanghai resort so it could comply with COVID-19 prevention measures. Park visitors present at the time of the announcement were required to remain until they return a negative test. That’s the latest public health measure as rising case numbers from outbreaks across China have prompted a tightening of local curb and lockdowns. Yahoo Finance’s Anjalee Khemlani joins us now with the latest. Anjalee, these COVID lockdowns really continuing to create problems in China.

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: That’s right. And Disney just being one of the latest to have to deal with that, this coming after 10 cases were reported locally in Shanghai as local transmission forcing the government to start that strict lockdown of that area, of course, with mass, you know, crowds. As of right now, we do know that the park will be indefinitely closed. Those who are already in the park do have to return a negative test. There were already strict measures in place. And the park had just reopened at the end of June. And so those who are stuck inside are dealing with the same restrictions that were in place, which is a negative test at least 72 hours before entry, or no entry for those who had traveled abroad or who were living domestically in high transmission areas.

Right now, the park site says that it’s uncertain about when it will reopen. And so those ticket holders who are looking to visit within the next coming days and weeks are going to have to contend with either rebooking at a time once they know an opening date or asking for a refund. So that’s where things stand right now.

INES FERRE: And Anjalee, speaking of coming days and weeks, let’s take a look at COVID and the variants and what’s coming for this winter. What should people watch out for here in the US?

ANJALEE KHEMLANI: So we’ve seen something interesting kind of happen over the weekend and tracking these variants. We know there’s the XBB that’s taken hold in Singapore as well as other countries, including India and Bangladesh. And we’ve seen an interesting trend which is not an increase in death, so that’s one positive sign. However, we have seen increased cases. Now, we know that the QB1 and QB11 here in the US is already starting to grow nearly a quarter or actually passed a quarter of cases now. So what this trends for in terms of how hard the winter will be is actually still unclear. And I know we’ve seen a lot of uncertainty. We’ve had guests on just prior to me talking about the uncertainty of the winter and that holds true too for coronavirus as we know. There’s also the focus on the flu RSV and COVID circulating all at the same time.

So things still uncertain. But, you know, experts really prompting or asking for individuals to stay cautious, remain cautious and take all the preventative measures possible.

INES FERRE: Anjalee Khemlani tracking everything COVID-related. Thank you, Anjalee.