Chinese singer deliberately catches Covid to avoid missing her New Year's Eve concert

A famous Chinese singer deliberately infected herself with Covid-19 so she would not be at risk of infection before and during one of her concerts at the end of December.

Singer Jane Zhang Liangying is being slammed by social media users for her actions.

The incident came to light after she herself admitted to it. The singer took to social media to admit that she exposed herself to the virus by seeing friends who had tested positive for Covid-19.

The 38-year-old woman took the step in preparation for an upcoming New Year's Eve concert. "I've been prepared for being infected," Zhang wrote.

"Then I began to catch a fever, my throat began to ache, my nose began to ache, my whole body began to ache, my head began to ache ... before I finally fell asleep."

"After sleeping for a day and a night, all my symptoms disappeared ... I just drank plenty of water and took vitamin C, without taking any medicine before I got well," she added.

She even asked her followers for advice on whether she would be considered a positive case since her symptoms lasted only for a day.

She has been a popular musician in China for more than twenty years now. She has been nicknamed "Dolphin Princess" and has 43 million followers on Weibo. Her actions have triggered a social media backlash, and people have been slamming her for her irresponsible behaviour.

"I don't understand why she is so insensitive. As a public figure, how could she say this? She is encouraging people to get infected, which is not OK," the South China Morning Post quoted one of her followers as saying.

Zhang issued an apology following the public outcry and said that she was worried about getting infected at the concert, which would have put others at risk too. "I didn't consider things carefully before making my previous posts. I apologise to the public," she wrote on Weibo.