China Doesn't Want You To Travel During Spring Festival

By Alistair Baker-Brian

Travel during the Chinese Spring Festival is not advised in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. 

The Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council, a task force that coordinates China’s anti-epidemic response, issued several recommendations to help ensure people stay safe during the holiday period. 

Liu Kezhi, director of the Market Management Department at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said non-essential travel should be avoided, especially to overseas destinations and to medium- and high-risk areas within China.  

Other key recommendations include holding virtual gatherings, limiting family meals and face-to-face gatherings to no more than 10 people and avoiding encounters with anyone showing coronavirus symptoms. 

The travel period leading up to Spring Festival (chunyun, 春运) is often referred to as the ‘largest annual human migration,’ with many people from all over the Chinese mainland returning to their hometowns and traveling to scenic spots. 

A recent wave of COVID-19 infections across China has led to a tightening of anti-epidemic measures, especially in Hebei province where a spike in infections led to the lockdown of the capital Shijiazhuang. 

There are fears that travel during the holidays will exacerbate the latest wave of infections. Last year, Spring Festival saw a 50% drop in travel as COVID-19 began to take hold across China. Spring festival 2021 will also likely be no ordinary holiday.  

[Cover Image via @梦想评论员/Weibo]

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