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Coronavirus

COVID lockdown turns Chinese tourist hotspot Sanya into nightmare for stranded tourists

Many of the 80,000 visitors stuck inside hotels until next Saturday, if not longer

Vendors selling swimming accessories walk on Sanya Bay beach in Sanya, Hainan province, China Nov. 26, 2020.   © Reuters

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -- When Chinese businesswoman Yang Jing was planning this year's summer holiday in 2021, she chose the tropical southern island of Hainan because of its nigh-perfect COVID track record.

The island in the South China Sea recorded just two positive symptomatic COVID-19 cases in the whole of last year. Fast forward to this month, however, and the number of cases has suddenly soared, prompting a lockdown in the city of Sanya and leaving tens of thousands of tourists like Yang stuck on the island.

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