On their official WeChat accounts, two churches in Jiangsu and Zhejiang said that they would suspend face-to-face gatherings during the Chinese New Year Holiday from January 31 to February 7.
On January 28, Hangzhou CC&TSPM in Zhejiang announced it would close and suspend religious activities from that day on, in response to the higher-level department’s requests, as the city found locally transmitted Omicron cases.
According to the Zhejiang Provincial Health Commission, Hangzhou detected 18 new confirmed cases on January 28, with all close contacts being quarantined. As of that date, a total of 2,159 positive cases had been reported, including 366 imported cases.
The next day, Wuxi Church in Jiangsu issued a notice, stating that it would halt onsite gatherings from Chinese New Year Eve to the seventh day of the first lunar month. It declared that meetings from Monday to Friday will resume from February 8, with plans to admit 100 participants. The Sunday services are suspended till further notice.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
