Disneyland in China has closed, at least temporarily, as the deadly Wuhan coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.
The Shanghai Disneyland announced the closure on Friday in statement posted to its website.
“In response to the prevention and control of the disease outbreak and in order to ensure the health and safety of our guests and Cast, Shanghai Disney Resort is temporarily closing Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown including Walt Disney Grand Theatre and Wishing Star Park, starting January 25, 2020,” the Disney statement said. “We will continue to carefully monitor the situation and be in close contact with the local government, and we will announce the reopening date upon confirmation.”
The Disney destination said it would assist in refunding tickets for guests who planned trips to Shanghai Disneyland prior to the closure notice.
The latest decision by the Chinese Disney location comes as Chinese government authorities have announced quarantines and travel restrictions in areas around the virus epicenter in the city of Wuhan. As many as five cities, including 25 million people, were under travel restrictions as of Thursday.
Those cities placed under travel restrictions by Thursday included Wuhan, Huanggang, Ezhou Chibi and Zhijiang.
On Friday McDonalds had announced closures at locations in Wuhan, Huanggang and Ezhou as well as closures in Qianjiang and Xiantao which were also placed under travel restriction Friday, CNN reported.
Thus far, some 26 people have already died as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Cases have spread beyond China as well. Patients in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand have been confirmed to have contracted the deadly virus. Cases have also appeared in the United States.
On Friday the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the second instance of a U.S. person to have contracted coronavirus. The first U.S. case of coronavirus was confirmed on Tuesday in a man who returned to Snohomish County, Wash. from travels in Wuhan. Both he and the other confirmed U.S. patient had travelled in China in the days and weeks before the virus manifested.
The CDC has indicated cases of coronavirus typically take between two to 14 days to incubate in an infected person.
Many airports throughout the U.S. have been on the lookout for travellers returning from China and have begun a screening process to identify possible carriers of the virus. As of Tuesday, CDC officials said they had already screened more than 1,200 people who have arrived at various airports.
Symptoms for coronavirus may be difficult to spot as the virus shares many similarities to colds. Those with coronavirus could have runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever and a general feeling of being unwell. The mild forms of symptoms typically only last a short period of time. More serious forms of coronavirus, however, can result in lower-respiratory tract illnesses, such as pneumonia or bronchitis
