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Coronavirus pandemic
Opinion
SCMP Editorial
SCMP Editorial

Editorial | Shanghai Disneyland offers hope to all with magical reopening

  • With caution, vigilance and social distancing, the city’s theme park can help make the case for gradually resuming large-scale occasions

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Disney character Mickey Mouse greets visitors at Shanghai Disney Resort as the Shanghai Disneyland theme park reopens. Photo: Reuters
SCMP Editorial
There is surely no better place than a theme park to test whether social-gathering rules can be safely eased amid efforts to stave off a second wave of the Covid-19 disease.
Shanghai Disneyland reopened to visitors on Monday as normal life gradually returns to one of China’s most populous cities after almost four months of lockdown.

Health officials consider that the coronavirus has been brought under control, enabling resumption of business with people returning to work, and allowing public entertainment and enjoyment. Caution and vigilance are necessities, but the sight of joyous crowds at the iconic attraction offers a message of hope and optimism for all.

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Shanghai Disneyland is the first of the Walt Disney Company’s six resorts around the world to reopen. If Hong Kong can keep Covid-19 under control, the firm’s attraction in the city could well be next; a spokeswoman has said it will reopen “as soon as it is advisable”.

02:24

But the park in Shanghai represents a test case, both for the company and governments eager to get economies running again. China, having largely beaten the virus, can show the way forward through a trouble-free easing of rules.

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