Shanghai's Disneyland reopens after virus closure

The House of Mouse's experience in Shanghai, the first of its parks to reopen, foreshadows hurdles leisure industries might face as they reopen. Disney is limiting visitor numbers, requiring masks and checking temperatures at the gate.

Shanghai: Visitors in face masks streamed into the Shanghai Disney Resort as the theme park reopened Monday in a high-profile step toward reviving global tourism that was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.

The House of Mouse's experience in Shanghai, the first of its parks to reopen, foreshadows hurdles leisure industries might face as they reopen. Disney is limiting visitor numbers, requiring masks and checking temperatures at the gate.

China, where the new virus was first detected in December, was the first country to reopen factories and other businesses after declaring the disease under control in March even as infections rose and controls were tightened in other countries.

Tourism was hit especially hard by controls imposed around the world that shut down airline and cruise ship travel, theme parks and cinemas. Disney's latest quarterly profit fell 91% and the company said virus-related costs cut pretax profit by 1.4 billion (U.S. dollars).

Shanghai Disneyland and Disney's park in Hong Kong closed Jan. 25 as China isolated millions of people to try to contain the outbreak. Tokyo Disneyland closed the following month and parks in the United States and Europe in March.

China has allowed shops and offices to reopen but is keeping cinemas, bars, karaoke parlors and other businesses closed.

Decals on sidewalks and at lines for attractions show visitors where to stand to keep themselves separated. The company said rides will be limited to one group of visitors per car to keep strangers apart.

Disney, headquartered in Burbank, California, has yet to set a date for reopening its other parks worldwide.

Visitors to Shanghai Disney are required to show government-issued identification and use a smartphone app issued by the Shanghai city government that tracks their health and contacts with anyone who might have been exposed to he virus.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

But the virus is highly contagious and can be spread by those with mild or no visible symptoms.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe.

AP