Chinese workers have been urged not to make “unnecessary” trips home for Spring Festival for the second consecutive year, as authorities nationwide tighten Covid-19 preventive measures after confirmed infections surged in the eastern province of Zhejiang.
As many as 47 – or nearly 80 per cent – of China’s 59 locally infected cases reported on Saturday were in Zhejiang province, according to the National Health Commission.
Various local authorities in the province have tightened preventive measures in view of the outbreak, including restrictions on indoor activities. All schools in Zhenhai district in Ningbo switched to online teaching from Wednesday, while Shangyu district in Shaoxing was put under lockdown on Saturday afternoon, with no vehicles or people allowed in or out unless absolutely necessary.
To prevent the spread of the virus under China’s zero-tolerance approach towards Covid-19, local authorities around the country have started to urge residents to avoid “unnecessary” trips to their hometown for the Lunar New Year holiday – just as they did the last time around.
A district in Zhangjiakou in Hebei province, one of the host cities for the Winter Olympics, has urged public sector employees, “to set an example, by celebrating the holiday locally” and avoid travelling during the holiday. It also called on all residents to persuade loved ones not to return from overseas or from medium- and high-risk regions within the country.
