Coronavirus crisis: Disney and Universal Studios CLOSED due to outbreak chaos
A DISNEY theme park and Universal Studios in a major city have been closed over fears of the coronavirus as the deadly virus takes hold across the world.
Coronavirus: Tokyo Disneyland to ‘close for two weeks’
Tokyo Disneyland confirmed it will be closed from Saturday to March 15 due to concerns about coronavirus infections spreading in Japan. The move will mean all of Walt Disney theme parks in Asia are temporarily shut.
Park operator Oriental Land Co Ltd said both Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea will be closed after a government recommendation that big gatherings and events be curtailed for two weeks.
Oriental Land said on its website: “We plan to reopen on March 16, but we will make an announcement after keeping close contact with relevant institutions."
Osaka-based theme park Universal Studios Japan is closing down during the same period.
The closures come a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for all schools to be closed down until the new academic year starts in early April.
Oriental Land shares closed up 0.66 percent on Friday, with investors having priced in the closures already after a slide of over 17 percent since the start of the year.
Disney’s Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks remain closed for more than a month, and the company earlier this month warned of a negative impact on its second quarter results.
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It said on an earnings call on February 5 that closure of the Shanghai park could impact operating profit by about $135 million if it was closed for 2 months.
Hopes the coronavirus would be contained to China vanished on Friday as infections spread rapidly around the world, countries started stockpiling medical equipment and investors took flight in expectation of a global recession.
The virus has caused nearly 80,000 infections and almost 2,800 deaths, according official Chinese figures. It has spread to another 46 countries, where about 3,700 cases and 57 deaths have been reported, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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Officials at WHO said it would be a “fatal mistake” for any country to assume it will not be hit by the coronavirus, and rich countries that might have thought they were safer should expect surprises.
In Europe, the number of people who tested positive for the illness in Italy increased by more than 200 to 650.
Germany, which warned of an impending epidemic, has about 27 cases, France around 18 and Spain 15.
While, Greece announced tighter border controls.