Lunar new year

SEOUL: On Lunar New Year holidays, Lee Soon-ai's pancake house in Seoul is usually packed with customers while others queue outside. This year, however, the "pancake alley" where she and a number of competitors run their businesses is eerily quiet. Pancakes are a key component of the family dinners that traditionally mark New Year celebrations across South Korea. But COVID-19 curbs due to run until the end of the holiday include a ban on private gatherings of more than four people and on restaurant dining in the capital after 9pm - and Lee's takings are sharply down as a result. READ: Hong Kong holds scaled-down Chinese New Year fairs amid COVID-19, national security law "Our regulars used to order pancakes worth 100,000 won (US$90) during the holiday, but they either bought 30,000 won-worth this time or didn't buy at all," she said. Her shop has been in the family since the 1990s and she usually gets through 400 cartons of eggs during the holiday season. This year … [Read more...] about A flat New Year for Seoul pancake houses as COVID-19 curbs hit festivities

SINGAPORE: Those who celebrate Chinese New Year are encouraged to give out e-hongbaos this year, as this will help to reduce queues for new notes and is more environmentally friendly, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday (Jan 11). For people who still prefer to use new physical notes, however, they will need to make online reservations with their banks to get the new notes, said MAS. Pre-booking is required at DBS Bank , Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) . Except for those aged 60 and above and people with disabilities, customers will need to make an appointment online before visiting the bank branches, said MAS. Maybank and Standard Chartered are also offering pre-order of notes. The pre-order period for new and good-as-new notes opens on Jan 18, with collection from Jan 25. To accommodate more customers, DBS is doubling the number of online reservation slots available this year, the bank said in a … [Read more...] about MAS encourages use of e-hongbao for Chinese New Year; online reservation required for new notes from some banks

SINGAPORE: Authorities are not hiring people to enforce rules on household visits during the Chinese New Year period as claimed by a message circulating on WhatsApp, said the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said on Thursday (Jan 28). The message claimed that an agency will employ 5,000 temporary staff members to "go around houses to check the number of visitors present in each household", with details on how much they would be paid for the job. “There is no such hiring exercise being conducted by agencies involved in the enforcement of safe distancing measures (SDMs) and safe management measures (SMMs),” MSE said in response to CNA's queries. “Agencies have deployed Safe Distancing Ambassadors (SDAs) since the circuit breaker in 2020, and have been hiring to replace attrition,” the ministry added. “The number of SDAs has remained constant. There is no plan to hire an additional 5,000 SDAs for the Lunar New Year period.” READ: Rules on visiting and … [Read more...] about Claims about authorities hiring people to enforce 8-visitor rule during Chinese New Year are false: MSE

BEIJING: Chinese tourists, millions of whom have shunned overseas travel because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are limiting their journeys further to nearby cities and avoiding leaving their provinces. Recent cases of the novel coronavirus in Beijing and northern China have rekindled public concern, already shaken by calls to avoid non-essential travel during the festive season between Jan 1 and the start of Chinese New Year in mid-February . Millions of domestic tourists travel in the week before and after Jan. 1 in a typical year. Hotel bookings for the three-day New Year weekend had reached 1.8 times of bookings a year earlier as of Dec 24, but many people were not travelling far, even though plane tickets were nearly 20 per cent cheaper on average, Beijing-based online travel platform Qunar.com said. "The trend is taking a train to visit cities within the reach of one hour," the company said. The hottest train tickets are for trips between Chengdu and Chongqing, Guangzhou … [Read more...] about Fearing COVID-19, Chinese tourists opt for new year close to home

BEIJING: Beijing has urged residents not to leave the city during the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays, implementing fresh restrictions after several coronavirus infections this week. Two domestic cases were reported on Friday (Dec 25), a convenience store worker and a Hewlett Packard Enterprise employee. Another two asymptomatic cases were discovered in Beijing earlier in the week. Beijing is conducting testing on a limited scale in the neighbourhoods and workplaces where the cases were found. READ: Chinese COVID-19 vaccines are poised to fill gap, but will they work? To contain any new outbreaks, the Beijing government cancelled big gatherings such as sports events and temple fairs. It said applications will be strictly reviewed for any major events. Venues such as cinemas, libraries and museums have to operate at 75 per cent capacity, the government said. It also called on companies not to arrange business trips outside the city and abroad. Lunar New Year falls … [Read more...] about Beijing tells residents to stay put for Chinese New Year holidays due to COVID-19