China Braces for Massive Superspreader Event

“Xi Jinping has expressed concern about the spread of Covid-19 to rural China on the eve of the lunar new year, in the Chinese president’s most direct acknowledgment of the worsening health crisis since suddenly abandoning his zero-Covid strategy in early December,” the Financial Times reports.

“China’s lunar new year holiday marks the world’s biggest annual human migration. Officials have forecast that the country’s 1.4 billion people will take 2 billion trips to see family in the coming weeks — about two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels.”

Meanwhile, The Guardian notes Chinese cyber authorities have announced an internet censorship crackdown to ensure there are no “gloomy sentiments” caused by pandemic “rumors” during the lunar new year festival.