While my friends would already know that any Disney park would be the last place I would want to visit, thousands of visitors in one Disney park had their dreams (or for some, their nightmares) come true recently. With nearby positive COVID cases, Chinese government officials locked down Shanghai Disney park until they could show proof of a negative COVID test.
Of course, the Disney park was not the only lockdown in the area. Stores and other businesses were also shut down simultaneously as China works to maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards COVID. As this pattern of lockdowns has continue, the Chinese residents have found themselves trapped in random locations until they provided a negative COVID test. Various social media sites have documented crowds quickly leaving a variety of businesses when a fear of lockdowns hits. At least Disney Shanghai left the rides going as the crowds waited to test and prove negativity so they could escape the “happiest place on earth”.
This Chinese policy has not only frustrated their residents, but likely hurt their economy. A recent quarter of the fiscal year showed a drop in their GDP by 2.6%. Thankfully, America is no longer implementing such draconian measures. The absence of current bad policy, however, does not mean we can sit back calmly trusting politicians to be kinder and wiser than those in China. Keep your guard up for attempts to re-impose overbearing regulations again.
While it may sound like a dream to be trapped in Disney, remember that the food there is expensive, unhealthy, and you have no other options. As for lock-downs, control from the top is never a substitute for a knowledgeable and wise populace from exercising self-control. Helping others live healthier more abundant lives requires such reminders.
News Link:
Shanghai Disney: Visitors unable to leave without negative Covid test as park shuts. BBC online. By Alex Binley. Published 11/1/22. Accessed 11/2/22. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63456107
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
