A day after Shanghai Disneyland closed indefinitely due to the coronavirus outbreak, Hong Kong Disneyland announced that it, too, will close. Here's the announcement from the park's website:
As a precautionary measure in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong, we are temporarily closing Hong Kong Disneyland park starting from January 26, 2020 out of consideration for the health and safety of our guests and cast members. The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hotels will remain open. We are in close contact with health authorities and the government about the situation and will announce a reopening date once they determine it is advisable.
Here is an explanation of the new coronavirus, which helps put the whole thing into better perspective. Chinese leaders are closing public gathering places and limiting travel in an attempt to stop the virus' spread, and of course, the Disney theme parks are some of the most popular gathering places in the country... especially during the Lunar New Year celebration, which has been happening this week.
Whether the closures stop or even slows the virus remains to be seen, but they definitely will slow down the tourism business and perhaps even the economy as a whole across the country, as people stay home and do not spend the money that they would have spent on travel and entertainment this week.
Hong Kong Disneyland already was enduring a dismal year for attendance, thanks to continuing unrest in the district, so - to be honest - the closure just means attendance will drop from "almost nothing" to "actually nothing" for a while.
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