Dengue Outbreak at Sanya Construction Sites Puts Thousands of Workers in Quarantine, Workers Say

A dengue fever outbreak at construction sites in Sanya, the tourist city on the southern tip of China's Hainan island, has put thousands of workers under quarantine. The state-controlled Beijing News reported the outbreak on Oct. 31. Workers who spoke to The Epoch Times described the scale in more detail on Nov. 3.

According to the Beijing News, some of the workers were moved to local hotels or residential complexes for quarantine and testing. The move angered residents of those complexes, who say they were not told beforehand.

Where it happened

Local construction workers told The Epoch Times the outbreak centered on "Sanya Poly Tianjun," a high-end residential project in Sanya's Jiyang District. Several construction sites within the project were hit. Work at multiple sites has been suspended, and both the living quarters and the work areas are locked down, they said.

Sun Zhiyong, a worker still on site, gave the most detailed account. He uses a pseudonym because he fears reprisal from Chinese authorities. He said his site had earlier been locked down for about a week because of dengue, affecting roughly 1,000 people.

Some workers are now confined to the on-site living quarters, Sun said. Those who lived off-site have been moved to the Beauty Crown Hotel, a landmark resort in Sanya. Nearly 20 busloads of workers have gone to the hotel, he said, with each construction site relocating roughly 800 to 1,000 people.

Thousands affected

Sun said the problem is not confined to one site. Several projects sit in the same cluster, run by different contractors. "When an outbreak occurs at one site, operations at all the surrounding sites are halted," he said. "In total, there are about 4,000 to 5,000 workers affected."

Sun also estimated there are dozens of infected cases at his own site.

Those figures come from workers on the ground. They are estimates from people who say they fear retaliation for talking, not an official tally. The Beijing News account confirms the outbreak, the relocations and the residents' complaints. The 4,000 to 5,000 figure and the case estimate rest on Sun's word and that of other workers.

What dengue is, and why the quarantine stands out

The CDC describes dengue as an acute infectious disease caused by the dengue virus and spread by the bites of infected Aedes mosquitoes. It is not transmitted directly from person to person.

The incubation period typically runs 1 to 14 days. Symptoms include sudden fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, and muscle and joint pain. Severe cases can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, both potentially life-threatening.

Because dengue moves through mosquitoes and not through contact, locking thousands of workers into dormitories and hotels is not the standard way to stop its spread. Mosquito control is. The workers' accounts do not say what vector control, if any, is under way at the sites.

The unannounced hotel and housing relocations are what drew the residents' discontent, according to the Beijing News. Moving large groups into neighborhoods without notice is the kind of decision that tends to generate friction anywhere, and the report says it did here.

The open questions

Sanya is a major tourist destination, and Hainan is the province Beijing is promoting as a showcase for development. A dengue cluster in a high-end residential build there is a public health story and a local economic one. Construction at several sites is halted, and the workers say nothing about when it restarts.

The unanswered questions are specific. How many workers tested positive? When do the lockdowns lift? Sun's estimate is dozens of cases at his site alone, and the reported 4,000 to 5,000 affected workers are his number, not an official one.

Until Sanya or Hainan health authorities publish a case count and a timeline, those questions stay open.