Covid lockdown leaves 80,000 tourists stuck in 'China’s Hawaii'.

Approximately 80,000 travelers are stranded in Sanya, a renowned resort city on China’s Hainan Island, following a lockdown imposed to curb a Covid-19 outbreak.

Public transport was halted, and city movement was restricted starting early Saturday. Tourists must stay for at least seven days and pass five Covid-19 tests before they can leave.

Deputy Mayor He Shigang confirmed on Friday that 80,000 tourists remain in Sanya. Anyone in the city, as well as visitors who arrived since July 23, are forbidden from leaving Hainan after 6pm local time on Saturday, according to provincial officials.

The lockdown comes at the peak of Hainan's summer tourism season, with the island—often dubbed 'China’s Hawaii' for its beaches, lush forests, and luxury resorts—being a popular getaway.

More than 80% of flights departing from Sanya were canceled on Saturday, according to data from flight tracking service Variflight. Additionally, all train departures from the city were also canceled, as reported by CCTV.

Sanya authorities acknowledged the challenges faced by tourists and, in a press conference on Saturday, vowed to address these issues by streamlining travel cancellations and offering discounted hotel rates for those stranded.

The city was categorized into high and medium-risk zones, with specific restrictions based on the risk level. Nonetheless, the entire city was placed under 'static management,' a term used to describe the strict lockdown measures in place.

The city, located at the southern tip of Hainan Island, has reported 827 Covid-19 cases from August 1 through Saturday midnight, including 240 confirmed cases and 173 asymptomatic infections on Saturday alone, according to provincial health authorities' announcement on Sunday morning. China separates symptomatic from asymptomatic cases in its reports.

Saturday's figures make this outbreak the most severe in China, surpassing the national total of 736 confirmed and asymptomatic local cases reported across the country on the same day.

Authorities have confirmed the presence of the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5.1.3 subvariant in the outbreak, which they suspect was introduced to the island through contact with overseas seafood traders at Sanya’s Yazhou fishing port.

On Saturday, Hainan’s provincial authorities announced mandatory nucleic acid testing for the island’s 10 million residents, following reports of cases in other areas of the province.

Danzhou, another city in Hainan, imposed partial lockdown measures for its 1 million residents on Saturday afternoon, while Qionghai city, with a population of half a million, also enacted strict measures on Sunday, closing most non-essential businesses and requiring residents to stay at home unless absolutely necessary, according to a report by CCTV.

These new measures are being implemented as China’s economy faces challenges under its strict 'zero-Covid' policy, which aims to curb the virus through lockdowns, extensive testing, and stringent border controls.