BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday required visitors at a mega entertainment centre to undergo COVID tests, in the country’s second mass screening for the coronavirus at a large venue in days.
Those who were tested for COVID-19 were required to return home to await their results and not venture outdoors until advised, local authorities in Chengdu said in a notice.
It was unclear how many visitors were at the New Century Global Center, which houses numerous shops, offices, a massive water park, and a university. At 1.7 million square metres, the building is the world’s largest, spanning a floor area the equivalent of four Vatican Cities.
Early in November, Shanghai Disneyland was shut for two days and more than 30,000 visitors tested, after a visitor to the theme park was found to be carrying the virus.
China has maintained a zero-tolerance policy towards COVID-19, determined that the cost of limiting local cases as they are found outweighs the inconvenience and disruptions caused by efforts to trace, isolate and treat the infected.
Chengdu, a city of more than 20 million people, has found a few local cases of COVID-19 in recent days.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
