Like many middle class Chinese, the 26-year-old banker from Beijing spent the first two weeks of January celebrating the new year. She visited Dior, shopped at Walmart and lunched at Quanjude, the city’s best-known Peking roast duck restaurant. One evening, she watched a standup comedy show. And on one weekend, she drove with friends to a ski resort on the outskirts of the capital.
Last week it was announced she was Beijing’s Omicron “patient zero”. Authorities released a detailed account of her itinerary dating back to 31 December, and her mundane – if a little extravagant – lifestyle became the talking point of China. Authorities also noted that she had been triple vaccinated with Sinovac.
