Chinese tourists quarantined after two visitors to Hainan found to be close contacts of Covid-19 carrier

Dozens of visitors to the popular Chinese resort of Sanya have been placed in quarantine after two members of a tour group were confirmed to be close contacts of a Covid-19 patient.

The two female tourists were quarantined on Friday night, along with 29 other members of their tour group and 12 people who had eaten at the same restaurants in the capital of Hainan province, according to a statement on the city’s official WeChat account.

So far all 45 people have tested negative, and the city had disinfected its public places, Sanya’s pandemic prevention command office said on Sunday.

The two close contacts had eaten at a restaurant in Xian’s airport on Wednesday at the same time as an asymptomatic carrier. The Sanya city government said it is now closely monitoring possible contacts.

Any outbreak would be a heavy blow to Hainan’s booming tourist and retail industry. The island, sometimes described as China’s Hawaii, receives millions of domestic visitors a year, drawn by its tropical climate and duty-free shopping.

In July this year, the duty-free quota was raised from 30,000 yuan (US$4,420) to 100,000 yuan per person, and electrical goods and wine added to the list of duty-free products in an effort to help get the economy back on track after the initial Covid-19 outbreak.