BEIJING (AP) — A further 259 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan, where some 80,000 tourists have been stranded due to pandemic restrictions.
Authorities declared the seaside resort of Sanya in Hainan a COVID-19 hotspot on Saturday and imposed a lockdown, restricting Chinese citizens and expatriates to their hotels on what they had hoped would be a vacation of severe restrictions in much of China. . Tourists wishing to leave Sanya must test negative for the coronavirus on five PCR tests over seven days.
In total, China reported 324 new locally transmitted cases on Monday, along with 483 asymptomatic cases, which China classifies separately.
China steadfastly adheres to a “zero COVID” policy, despite the economic and social costs. It has credited that approach for keeping hospital admissions and death rates lower than other countries opened up amid high vaccination rates, more effective treatments and the rise of the more contagious but less deadly strain of virus.