Chinese authorities hastily locked down the southern coastal city of Sanya over the weekend, trapping tens of thousands of holidaymakers after a highly infectious Omicron strain of coronavirus was detected in the province known as “China’s Hawaii”.Covid-19 cases in China’s Hainan province rapidly rose over the week to a cumulative 828, forcing authorities to abruptly announce a lockdown early Saturday morning.
Public transportation was suspended, travellers were removed from planes on the tarmac and motorists were turned around from checkpoints at the exits of the beach town of 1mn, according to local news and social media reports.
China’s state broadcaster CCTV reported on Friday that the outbreak was attributable to the infectious BA.5 Omicron sub-variant, which has driven the reintroduction of restrictions in cities across China and become the dominant strain in western countries.