19 Jan 2021 China has shut down at least 11 regions as of Monday and is facing major coronavirus outbreaks throughout the country, two weeks after the nation hosted a New Year’s Eve party for a crowd of thousands in Wuhan. Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province where the Chinese coronavirus originated in late 2019, held an open-air New Year’s Eve celebration which thousands attended on December 31 to greet 2021. Chinese state media boasted that those expressing concern about the dramatic images of tightly-packed crowds should “get used to it,” as Wuhan would continue to host large parties and other gatherings. Public health experts have regularly discouraged mass gatherings in light of the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, noting they help bolster community spread of the virus. Experts also recommend that those potentially exposed to the virus quarantine for 14 days, the believed maximum incubation period for the virus to show itself via symptoms.