On Saturday, the Beihai government shut down urban parts of the city — home to its resorts and tourist attractions — ordered mass testing and barred residents from leaving their homes. Sweeping Covid restrictions have also reached Weizhou Island, a remote islet an hour away by ferry that is popular for its picturesque coastline and beaches. As of Friday, tourists were asked to leave the island, while hotels and guesthouses were ordered to refund guests unconditionally. On Sunday, Weizhou Island closed all entertainment venues, from bars, cinemas and massage parlors to swimming pools. They also closed scenic spots across the island. At a press conference on Sunday, local officials said the more than 2,000 tourists stranded in Beihai would be treated based on their Covid risk levels: those who had not been to medium- or high-risk areas and who were not identified as having a direct or secondary contact of an infected person would be allowed to leave provided they could show a negative Covid test; others would have to stay in the city and be quarantined. Two officials in the city were removed from their posts for failing to take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the virus, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The sudden closure of the tourist hotspot is the latest example of the economic pain caused by China’s costly zero-Covid strategy. Last week, China’s economy posted its worst quarterly performance in more than two years, after months of harsh restrictions wreaked havoc across the country. China’s tourism industry has been hit by seemingly endless travel restrictions and emergency lockdowns, especially this year. During the Labor Day holiday in May, only 160 million domestic trips were made — down by a third from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Many tourist destinations were hoping to see more visitors in the summer holidays, but the highly contagious new sub-variants of Omicron have put local governments under more pressure to control Covid outbreaks. On Sunday, China reported nearly 600 locally transmitted infections – the highest increase since May. At least 16 provinces across the country have identified locally transmitted cases of Covid so far this month, according to the National Health Commission. In Macau, the government said on Saturday it would extend a citywide lockdown until July 22 as it struggled to contain the gambling hub’s biggest-ever Covid outbreak. Macau imposed a shutdown on July 11, closing its casinos and barring residents from leaving their apartments except for essential activities such as shopping. It has recorded about 1,700 infections since mid-June.
