China authorities brace for New Year virus surge

China is facing "severe" challenges ahead of the lunar new year as authorities deal with the spread of two variants of COVID-19, officials said Saturday.

"The lunar new year travel rush is about to start," said Mi Feng, spokesperson for the National Health Commission. "The migration and gathering of people will increase significantly." The comments were made days after most access to Tianjin, a major city adjacent to Beijing, was suspended in an attempt to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious omicron variant.

China has stepped up its strict zero tolerance strategy in the runup to the Winter Olympics, which open Feb. 4 in Beijing. Authorities say the current policy is still effective for dealing with cases of the omicron variant.