Beijing, Feb 1 (Agency) The travel plans of millions of Chinese people’s to celebrate Lunar New Year have been affected due to Covid-19 for third straight year. The celebration during pre-pandemic years would see as many as 3 billion trips made across China, and was the world’s largest annual migration of people, the BBC reported on Tuesday. The Lunar New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival in China, is on February 1 this year. Currently, the Chinese officials, who are pursuing a zero-Covid strategy, have enforced strict measures ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. The resurgence of Covid-19 in the country has forced people to cancel their plans to travel abroad.
As it is considered to be the most important time of the year for the Chinese to be with their family, people who have carved out a livelihood in cities make their way back to their hometowns, BBC reported. However, China’s Ministry of Transportation has estimated that this year would witness 1.18 billion trips. While the figure remains a far cry from pre-pandemic numbers, there are still worries that it may turn into a super-spreader event, BBC said in its report. Chinese people have been put under stringent government surveillance with colour-coded system to determine whether they can travel.
According to the latest norms, people will have to show a green health code on their phone before taking public transports and passing through highway check-points. The health code shows that they have not been in Covid-infected areas. Migrant workers especially have been the hardest-hit on this year’s new year. “Is it wrong for a migrant worker who toils day and night, who lives far away from home, to return to his hometown and reunite with his family during his only few days of annual holiday?” wrote a user on Chinese social media platform Weibo.