China: Celebrations for Year of the Tiger are muted, but bring hope

A man wearing a protective face mask walks by an area decorated with lanterns ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year festivity, following new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in Shanghai, China. - Reuters

BEIJING, Jan 31 (AP): People across Asia especially in China prepared Monday for muted Lunar New Year celebrations amid concerns over the coronavirus and virulent omicron variant, even as increasing vaccination rates raised hopes that the Year of the Tiger might bring life back closer to normal.

The Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China and falls on Tuesday, Feb. 1. Each year is named after one of twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac in a repeating cycle. The Year of the Tiger follows the Year of the Ox.