HONG KONG — For the fourth time, Hong Kong Disneyland will be closing temporarily in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the region.
The theme park will close on Friday and officials hope to reopen on Jan. 20, officials wrote on its Facebook page.
“As required by the government and in line with preventive efforts taking place across Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland park will temporarily close from Jan. 7 to 20,” park officials said in a release. “Guests who planned to visit the park on (those) dates are advised to visit on another day.”
Hong Kong Disneyland closing again over coronavirus concerns https://t.co/HYZunwozL6
— KTLA (@KTLA) January 5, 2022
Disneyland Hong Kong already is closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays to meet protocols, meaning the shutdown has already begun, KTLA-TV reported.
On its website, the park said the move was “required by the government and health authorities and in line with (COVID-19) prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong.”
The move affects the theme park but not its resort hotels, according to the website.
“We have to contain the pandemic to ensure that there will not be a major outbreak in the community again,” Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a news conference. She added that Hong Kong is “on the verge” of another surge.
Hong Kong Disneyland was shut down briefly in November 2020 after a visitor tested preliminarily positive for COVID-19, CNN reported.
The park was also closed at the beginning of the pandemic but reopened in June 2020, the news outlet reported.
Hong Kong has been operating a zero-COVID policy, Variety reported. That includes strict border controls and long quarantine period for almost all inbound travelers. Until this month, the region had gone for two months without a confirmed local case of COVID-19, according to Variety.
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