Respiratory illness risk remains during Spring Festival holidays

The respiratory illness risk remains during the Spring Festival holiday as large-scale migration and population gatherings could increase the spread of viruses, according to National Health Commissions (NHC) at a press briefing on Sunday.

Mi Feng, spokesperson of NHC, said China's COVID-19 epidemic has been fluctuating at a low level, and the number of influenza and mycoplasma pneumoniae infections has dropped. However, the spread of the illness could be easily sped up during the Spring Festival holiday.

The NHC said the medical institutes need to prepare enough resources and medics for emergencies and meet the demand from key groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant women and patients with underlying diseases.

The JN.1 subvariant of COVID-19 has become the current prominent strain in China, with most cases being considered mild. However, during the holidays, the amount of COVID-19 is expected to increase.

Experts predict that multiple respiratory diseases will continue to spread for a while and that influenza cases will drop to a low level after the Spring Festival holiday.

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests people need to keep monitoring their own health and avoid groups if they display cold and flu symptoms. In addition, good hygiene habits such as washing hands before meals and regular air ventilation are important as well.