Chính thức mất Tết

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In a regular year, hundreds of millions of people travel by plane, train and car to be with their families for the Lunar New Year, which begins Feb. 12.

This year, the authorities (chính quyền, cơ quan có thẩm quyền) imposed (áp đặt, buộc ai phải chấp nhận điều gì) onerous (nặng nề, khó nhọc, phiền hà) quarantine (cách ly) and testing (xét nghiệm) rules to dissuade (khuyên can, can ngăn) roughly 300 million migrant (nhập cư, di cư) workers from traveling home. People returning to rural areas during the holiday must spend two weeks in quarantine (cách ly 2 tuần) and pay for their own coronavirus tests (trả chi phí xét nghiệm). Many migrants, who work at low-paying jobs, say the restrictions make it impossible to travel.

The tightened rules have drawn criticism, with many calling the approach unfair to the workers, who have already been among the most affected by the pandemic (đại dịch). The holiday is normally the only time that many of them can return to their hometowns.

Incentives: With gift baskets and discounts, access to better schools and health care, the government is trying to entice (dụ dỗ) migrant workers to stay in the cities and prevent the kind of spread that would require new lockdowns (phong tỏa).