The travel history of a man who recently tested positive for an asymptomatic case of COVID-19 in Beijing has sparked widespread sympathy among netizens, who say his life is too difficult.

Information about an epidemiological investigation, released on Wednesday at a news briefing in the capital, shows that the man, surnamed Yue, has barely had any time off from work in recent weeks. During the New Year holiday, he worked from late at night until the early hours of the morning. From Jan 1 until Tuesday, he traveled to 28 places cross several districts, covering hundreds of kilometers.

Yue's travel history quickly sparked wide discussion online, with many netizens dubbing the information about him as "the most difficult" to digest.

"His travel history is really heartbreaking. His life is so hard," one commented.

Another wrote, "I literally burst into tears when I heard about this man's travels as I watched the news conference."

According to media reports, Yue, 44, came to Beijing to search for his son, who was born in 2001 but lost contact with his father in August 2019 in Rongcheng, Shandong province. In the past few years, Yue has moved around many places looking for his son.

Yue's travel history was not the first to show such hard work. Since the health authorities released the travel histories of confirmed COVID-19 cases in order to locate close contacts and prevent more people from becoming infected, it has come to public attention that many people work just as hard as Yue.