(CNN) — Shanghai Disney Park suddenly suspended operations on Monday to comply with COVID-19 prevention measures, and all visitors, at the time of publication, were instructed to remain in the park until they tested negative for the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
The resort said at 11:39 a.m. local time (11:39 p.m. Miami time) that it would immediately close the main theme park and surrounding areas, including its shopping street, until further notice in line with virus restrictions.
The Shanghai government said on its official WeChat account that the park is banning people from entering and exiting and that all visitors inside the complex will have to wait for test results before being allowed to leave.
It was announced that everyone who visited the park from October 27 will have to be tested for covid-19 three times in three days.
The theme park continued to operate attractions for visitors who remained in the park during Monday’s closure, social media users reported.
A Disney spokesman in Shanghai said the park was still operating with “limited supplies” and was following the guidelines of Chinese health authorities.
The complex announced on Saturday that it had begun operating with a reduced workforce to comply with covid-19 measures.
Shanghai reported 10 locally transmitted cases as of Oct. 30, all of whom were asymptomatic.
The closure marks the latest disruption at the Shanghai Disney park, which was closed for more than three months during Shanghai’s quarantine earlier this year.
The park was also closed for two days last November, with more than 30,000 visitors trapped inside, after authorities ordered everyone to be tested in a contact-tracing exercise.
Videos circulating on the Chinese platform Weibo this Monday showed people running towards the park’s gates, which had already been closed.
Reuters was unable to verify the authenticity of the video, and the Shanghai Disney park did not respond to an inquiry about the number of visitors inside.
Local authorities across China have continued to introduce harsh and extreme measures to prevent any possibility of transmission of the virus following the emergence of cases, in line with an ultra-strict zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19.
Universal Resort in Beijing, the country’s capital, reopened its doors on Monday after a five-day closure, also motivated by anti-virus measures.