‘Send e-cards to the dead’: Closed cemeteries in mainland China and live-streamed tomb-sweeping will dampen Ching Ming Festival amid Covid-19 surge

Cemeteries are being closed and officials are pushing online channels to honour ancestors during the upcoming Ching Ming Festival as China tries to neuter an Omicron-driven Covid-19 outbreak.

Local governments have either closed cemeteries or will limit the number of visitors during the annual event, also known as the “tomb-sweeping festival”, which takes place on April 5 this year.