A new wave of coronavirus cases has forced Hong Kong to close its Disney park and movie theaters.
"As required by the government and health authorities in line with prevention efforts taking place across Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disneyland park will temporarily close from July 15," a Disney spokesperson told Deadline. "The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort hotels will remain open with adjusted levels of services. They have put in place enhanced health and safety measures that reflect the guidance of health and government authorities, such as social distancing measures and increased cleaning and sanitization."
The park welcomed back guests on June 18 after being closed for months as part of an initiative from Disney to get its gates open around the world. This includes its Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, which just reopened two days ago despite record numbers of new cases in the state.
The Hong Kong government also closed movie theaters, which have been open since May. The news serves as a blow to the local film industry, which is struggling to stay afloat amid shrinking sets and canceled shoots. However, Hong Kong's Film Development Fund will inject $260 million HKD (or $34 million USD) into the industry to subsidize budgets and keep things afloat for the time being.
Hong Kong first confronted the virus in January, quickly closing down businesses and schools. The lockdown measures remained in place until May, when encouraging trends in the data allowed those restrictions to be relaxed. Officials even reported that between June 13 and July 5, no locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported.
Those figures did not remain, though. The territory reported 52 new cases recently, taking its numbers up to 1,522 total cases and eight deaths. Other businesses being forced to close include gyms and gaming centers. Gatherings will also now be limited to just four people, a significant decrease from the previous allowance of 50.