When Chinese businesswoman Yang Jing was planning her summer vacation this year in 2021, she chose the southern tropical island of Hainan because of its near-perfect COVID record.
The South China Sea island recorded only two symptomatic positive cases of COVID-19 in all of last year. Fast forward to this month, however, and the number of cases has suddenly skyrocketed, prompting a lockdown in the city of Sanya and leaving tens of thousands of tourists like Yang stranded on the island.
Sanya, the island’s main tourist hub, imposed a lockdown on Saturday and restricted transport links to try to contain the outbreak, although some 80,000 visitors were enjoying its beaches in high season. Many are now stuck inside hotels until next Saturday, if not longer.
Read more: COVID in Shanghai: Millions tested as China battles new outbreaks
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Yang, along with her husband and son, stay in a four-star hotel paid for out of pocket. The family is eating noodles every day to avoid spending more on food.
“This is the worst vacation of my life,” Yang, who is in his 40s and lives in southern China’s Jiangxi province, told Reuters on Sunday.
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Sanya reported 689 symptomatic and 282 asymptomatic cases between August 1 and 7. Other cities in Hainan province, including Danzhou, Dongfang, Lingshui and Lingao, have reported more than a dozen cases in the same period.
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On Saturday, train ticket sales from Sanya were suspended, state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing the national operator, and more than 80 percent of flights there from Sanya had been cancelled, according to the Variflight data provider.
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Hainan has been closed to foreign tourists for the past two and a half years since China, in response to the pandemic, stopped issuing tourist visas and implemented strict quarantine rules.
Read more: China eases COVID-19 testing rules for travelers from Canada and other countries
Sanya authorities have said that stranded tourists can leave the island starting next Saturday, provided they have taken five tests for COVID and all have tested negative.
However, Yang said wait times for test results have been long, prompting her to take multiple tests a day.
“We don’t know who to turn to, and the internet only has positive news about Sanya, such as… the Sanya municipal government has properly resettled the 80,000 stranded tourists… as if the whole country believes that (we) don’t we are victims, not beneficiaries,” he said.