China’s Covid-19 outbreaks force caution as Lunar New Year travel rush begins

Name: China’s migrant workers rush to get Covid-19 test as local infections complicate Lunar New Year trip
Uploaded: 2021-01-29T02:00:17.000Z
Duration: 2 min 25 s
Description: China’s migrant workers rush to get Covid-19 test as local infections complicate Lunar New Year trip

Government pushes initiatives to limit and discourage movement during the traditional migration period

Transport ministry estimates 1.2 billion trips will be made over the 40-day holiday season, a 60 per cent drop from 2019

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Staff wearing face masks and shields direct rail passengers in Beijing on Thursday, although the number travelling was said to be smaller than in previous years. Photo: AP

Holly Chik

Published: 10:00am, 29 Jan 2021Updated: 1:54pm, 29 Jan 2021

China began its 40-day Lunar New Year holiday period on Thursday with measures in place aimed at limiting the spread of Covid-19 as it continued to battle sporadic outbreaks across the country.

The authorities announced 54 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, 41 of them locally transmitted, while the National Health Commission (NHC) said nearly 23 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had so far been administered. The NHC aims to have 50 million people immunised before the week-long Lunar New Year in mid-February.

The 40-day travel season in China is the world’s largest annual human migration as people travel to family reunions. Under the shadow of the pandemic, authorities have this year urged people not to travel, and imposed strict Covid-19 control measures for those who do.

The transport ministry estimated on Thursday that about 1.2 billion trips would be made over the holiday period – about 60 per cent fewer than in 2019.

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China’s migrant workers rush to get Covid-19 test as local infections complicate Lunar New Year trip

“The passenger flow during the Spring Festival this year will be significantly reduced,” a transport ministry spokesman Wu Chungeng said at a media briefing.

“The actual number is expected to be slightly lower than the estimation, and it may be further reduced because of the government’s ‘stay put’ drive.”