The reason? The singer wanted to contract the virus in preparation for an upcoming New Year's Eve concert. Ms. Zhang explained that she wanted to catch the virus so that she would not be at risk of infection during the concert, which is held at the end of December. 

“I was concerned that my condition during the New Year's Eve performance would be affected, so I met a group of people who have tested positive since I currently have time to recover from the virus,” she wrote.

The 38-year-old singer added that she went to sleep after she began to have symptoms such as fever, sore throat, and body aches. Zhang explained that her symptoms were similar to that of a Covid patient but only lasted one day. 

“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.

Ever since her post went viral, many criticized her for her insensitive and irresponsible behavior, especially at a time when China is facing a Covid-19 surge. Facing backlash for her actions, the singer deleted the controversial post from social media and apologised to the public.

“I didn't consider things carefully before making my previous posts. I apologise to the public,” she wrote on Weibo.“I was worried that if I got infected when the concert was held, it would increase the risk of my colleagues being infected again. So I was thinking that since it is an inevitable thing, why not get ill now when I don't need to leave home so that I can go to work after I recover? It would be safer for all of us,” Zhang explained.

The singer dubbed the “Dolphin Princess” has been a popular music star in China for nearly two decades after she won a national singing contest in 2005.