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Southern China holiday hotspot locked down amid COVID-19 spike
02:03

An estimated 80,000 tourists were in the southern Chinese resort city of Sanya enjoying their summer vacation when the city announced a closure early Saturday morning. Mass flight cancellations caught many by surprise. Authorities have halted public transportation and suspended sales of outbound railway tickets. Tourists were checked in at government-subsidized hotels and take shuttle buses for their daily commute to COVID19 test points.

The strict measures are to stem a new wave of infections driven by Omicron subvariant BA.5.1.3 – the first time the subvariant has been detected in China.

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