Cluster of infections points to theater in Zhangjiajie

On Wednesday night, the city began nucleic acid testing of all residents of Wulingyuan district, urban area of Yongding district and towns in Cili and Sangzhi counties.

As of 6 pm on Thursday, samples from 226,014 people had been collected, and one of the samples tested positive.

At least 19 people from outside Zhangjiajie－four in Liaoning province, five in Sichuan province, two in Chongqing, two in Beijing, two in Hunan and four in Jiangsu province－have tested positive for COVID-19. All had traveled to Zhangjiajie or have had close contact with people who have returned from the city.

An employee of the Charm Xiangxi Theater told local media that there were about 2,000 people in the audience for the July 22 show. The audience members were not widely separated and were required to wear masks when entering the theater. However, the theater could not guarantee they wore the masks, the employee said.

Sources from Wulingyuan district's disease control and prevention center told news portal The Paper that they have a list of all the people who attended the July 22 performance and are contacting each one to investigate.

The Charm Xiangxi Theater, which can accommodate an audience of around 2,800, has been closed for a week starting on Wednesday. People who bought tickets for the week ahead can get refunds.

Local media Rednet.cn reported that during the summer vacation, the Charm Xiangxi show is usually performed four times a day, with a daily attendance of more than 10,000 people. The total number of tourists who have watched the show so far this year is 890,000.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak in Nanjing, Zhangjiajie administered coronavirus tests to more than 2,900 performers, hotel staff and restaurant workers.

Zhu Youfang in Changsha contributed to this story.