Gao Xinqiang, deputy director of the Department of Medical Emergency Response of the health commission, right, speaks next to Wang Liping, researcher for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention during a press briefing by the National Health Commission as concerns surfaced in recent days over a surge in human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infections in northern China after images circulated online of hospitals overrun with masked patients, in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)