Hong Kong's Disneyland theme park said on Monday it will reopen on June 18 to a limited number of visitors with enhanced health and safety measures after the coronavirus outbreak forced it to close in late January.
The majority of the park's shopping and dining locations will restart operations with "controlled capacity," while social distancing measures will be implemented in queues, restaurants and other facilities. Hotel services will also resume gradually.
Disinfection will be carried out frequently and hand sanitizers will be made available for visitors, who will be required to go through temperature screening procedures and wear a face mask. A health declaration will be required as part of the reservation process.
Visitors wearing face masks at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. /VCG
Hong Kong has reported only a handful of new COVID-19 cases recently, with its total so far standing at 1,110 infections and four deaths.
Ocean Park, another iconic theme park in the city, resumed operations on Saturday after lawmakers approved a 5.4-billion-Hong Kong-dollar (696.76 million U.S. dollars) bailout plan last month to keep it running for another year.
Similarly, a series of anti-epidemic measures have been implemented at the park to ensure the safety of visitors and employees. During the first two weeks following the reopening, the maximum number of people in the park will be 9,000 people – 25 percent of the usual level. Starting from the third week, it will gradually increase its park-wide capacity to 50 percent of the normal volume.
All six Disney parks around the world were forced to close as a result of the global spread of the novel coronavirus, with the one in Shanghai being the first to reopen in May.
Read more: Shanghai Disneyland first to reopen globally after virus shutdown
(With input from Reuters)
(Cover: Visitors at the closed Disneyland theme park in Hong Kong, China. /VCG)