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
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.
