Returning workers crowd China train stations, play down Covid concerns
The railway station in China's financial hub Shanghai was bustling with migrant workers and travellers on Sunday as they returned from their hometowns where they had spent the Lunar New Year holiday.
China abandoned its strict "zero Covid" policy in early December and many workers who had not been able to see family since the pandemic started, rushed to leave cities taking advantage of restriction-free travel.
After a week, many are returning to go back to work and concerns of a Covid-19 resurgence seem far from their minds.
"Personally I am not worried about the epidemic. I think it is over," said Li Hongwei, who works as a welder in Shanghai.
Lunar New Year holiday trips inside China surged 74% from last year after authorities scrapped Covid-19 travel curbs, state media reported on Saturday, though the number of journeys was still only half of pre-pandemic levels.
According to official data, the number of Covid deaths a showed weekly decline, however. Between January 20-26, a week that overlapped with six days of the holiday period, China registered 6,364 Covid-linked deaths, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention said on Saturday, compared to 12,658 a week earlier.
Lunar New Year is the most important holiday of the year in China, when huge numbers of people working in prosperous coastal cities head to their hometowns and villages for family reunions.
Reuters
