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Kate Zhang

China saw a surge in Covid-19 cases at its most popular tourist destinations on Thursday, from Tibet and Xinjiang in the west to the southern tropical island of Hainan.
Mainland China reported 1,993 new local Covid-19 infections, more than double the 952 cases reported on Wednesday.
The Tibet autonomous region reported 68 new infections on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to 122 since the outbreak began over the weekend.
‘I’ve got used to it’: China’s tourists increasingly undeterred by outbreaks
Most cases in the region have been linked to travel to the city of Xigaze, which was expected to end a three-day lockdown on Thursday but instead extended it for another three days.
It is the first local Covid-19 outbreak Tibet has seen since January 2020, and national health authorities said the region faced obstacles.
“Tibet lacks experience dealing with Covid-19 outbreaks,” Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, said on Wednesday.
But she said the region had prepared by building makeshift hospitals and would be able to handle the outbreak with support from other provinces.
Guo said the State Council, China’s cabinet, had sent task forces and experts in testing, contact tracing, treatment and prevention to Tibet, and the region could also apply for support in treatment and epidemic control from other provinces.
“At this stage, [Tibet] can handle the outbreak,” she said.


But in Hainan, where 1,364 local infections were reported on Thursday, medical resources were in such short supply that authorities have sent more than 10,000 people to help. Hainan has 6.02 beds and 2.91 doctors per 1,000 residents – both below the national average.
“The epidemic in Hainan had been spreading covertly for a period before it was discovered,” Guo said. “The prevention and control situation is severe and complex, and the current epidemic is in a period of rapid progress.”
To cut transmission chains, the local government imposed lockdowns in 11 cities and cancelled most commercial flights from last week, leaving tens of thousands of travellers stranded.
The State Council has sent more than 8,000 coronavirus testing specialists and another 2,000 health workers. Two medical teams have also been sent to manage the makeshift hospitals.
Potala Palace shut as Tibet reports first Covid-19 cases since 2020
The island has become China’s top tourist destination as overseas travel remains off-limits for most because of strict border controls. But the sudden outbreak since early August has disrupted the travel plans of thousands.
Local authorities have allowed travellers to return home as long as their tour or hotel had not recorded any cases in the previous seven days. By Thursday morning, 2,156 tourists had managed to fly out of the island, according to Sheng Yongjun, vice-mayor of Hainan’s resort city of Sanya.
The Xinjiang autonomous region, where roads near popular attractions have been packed with summer tourists, reported 380 asymptomatic cases on Thursday, mostly in Ili Kazakh autonomous prefecture and regional capital Urumqi.
A local health official said on Wednesday that the outbreak in Urumqi was caused by the BA.5.2 Omicron subvariant, which is highly transmissible and better at evading immunity.


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Coronavirus China

Covid-19 surge hits China’s top tourist destinations

Tourists prepare to depart from Sanya Phoenix International Airport in Hainan province on Tuesday. Tens of thousands of tourists were stranded in the island province due to Covid-related travel restrictions. Photo: AFP

Coronavirus: Tibet’s Potala Palace shut as first Covid-19 cases since 2020 put Lhasa on high alert

The Potala Palace is among several famous tourist sites in Lhasa indefinitely closed to visitors because of the outbreak.  Photo: Reuters

Monks at the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Xigaze. Photo: Xinhua

Planned Xinjiang visit by Hong Kong members of national legislature put on hold over ‘fluctuating’ Covid-19 situation

Workers at a vineyard in Xinjiang are tested for Covid-19. Photo: VCG via Getty Images

Tam Yiu-chung says a new date for the trip is not known. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

China’s lockdown hits top duty-free retailer for US$2.7 billion as stock slides in Shanghai, hurts Hong Kong IPO appeal

China Tourism operates the world’s biggest duty-free shopping complex in Sanya. Photo: Xinhua

Tens of thousands of Chinese tourists stranded in island resort of Sanya after city imposes Covid lockdown

All flights to and from Sanya airport were suspended at short notice on Saturday morning. Photo: Weibo

Sanya on the island of Hainan is one of China’s most popular tourist destination. Photo: Xinhua

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China

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The tropical island province of Hainan reports more than 1,300 infections on Thursday as travellers struggle to return home following flight cancellations
City in Tibet extends lockdown as outbreak in the region grows, while Xinjiang reports new cases caused by BA.5.2 Omicron subvariant



Travellers to the tropical island province of Hainan struggle to return home, while Tibet and Xinjiang report growing coronavirus outbreaks.


Covid-19 surge hits China’s top tourist destinations

The tropical island province of Hainan reports more than 1,300 infections on Thursday as travellers struggle to return home following flight cancellations City in Tibet extends lockdown as outbreak in the region grows, while Xinjiang reports new cases caused by BA.5.2 Omicron subvariant

The tropical island province of Hainan reports more than 1,300 infections on Thursday as travellers struggle to return home following flight cancellations

City in Tibet extends lockdown as outbreak in the region grows, while Xinjiang reports new cases caused by BA.5.2 Omicron subvariant