Beijing’s decision to go ahead with the country’s annual “two sessions” parliamentary meetings in March signals confidence that China will be able to sustain containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, even as it surges overseas and sporadic outbreaks persist at home. Following last year’s forced postponement until May, it is a bold call so far in advance. That assurance is now being put to the test by a worrying new cluster of infections about 300km (186 miles) from Beijing that peaked recently in the biggest daily increase in cases in five months. Mainly locally transmitted cases have spread rapidly in Hebei province, which surrounds the national capital. As a result, the provincial capital Shijiazhuang and neighbouring Xingtai have gone into lockdowns. The outbreak has prompted a second round of mass testing of 11 million residents. Outlying villages around the two cities account for a disproportionate number of cases. As a result, local governments across China are shutting down funerals and weddings and other rural activities to reduce the risk of infection. About 3,000 delegates are expected in Beijing in March for the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Beijing has begun preparations for the political event that will set the agenda and all major policies for post-pandemic economic development. The goal of bringing the latest outbreak in Hebei under control soon enough to avert another postponement is therefore paramount at this stage. To that end, travellers can only seek access to Beijing with a QR code indicating that they have travelled from a safe area with a safe health status. Hong Kong officials and delegates to the two sessions will be hoping the city’s fourth wave of infection will have passed by then. The integrity of such screening, and of a tried and tested contact tracing system, ultimately depends on transparency in disease management. Premier Li Keqiang has warned officials against covering up or under-reporting the spread of the virus. He told a State Council meeting transparency was essential to controlling outbreaks. It is still unclear how the latest outbreak began. A cluster of cases first emerged in villages near the Shijiazhuang airport, used to handle quarantine for international travellers bound for Beijing. Chinese province declares state of emergency as virus outbreak spreads Shanghai-based infectious disease expert Zhang Wenbong said on his Weibo account that thanks to strong intervention tactics, China would control the Hebei outbreak in a month, but vaccination would be the ultimate solution. Until then, Hebei’s emergency reinforces the lessons of Hong Kong’s four waves of infection. No matter whether the coronavirus appears to be under control, it is never time to lower our guard by relaxing anti-infection practices.