BEIJING: China has seen a surge of people doing nucleic acid tests as they are returning to work following the week-long holiday for the Chinese New Year, known as Spring Festival, since the country continues to be cautious of potential COVID-19 outbreaks.
The Spring Festival is usually the busiest travel season in China since most people go back home for family reunions. Data from the Ministry of Transport shows that trips made during the seven-day holiday dropped by about 77 percent compared with the same period of 2019, as authorities encouraged people not to travel during the holidays, but some 98 million trips were still recorded.
The pandemic made traveling very different this year, as many cities require a coronavirus test certificate for returnees.
Luo Yaojun in southwest China’s Chengdu City got the nucleic acid test reports of his family on Thursday, a day before he left for Beijing, as the capital requires that people from low-risk areas show a negative test upon arrival. The recommendation was that people in medium and high-risk regions should not travel outside their areas.
“As citizens, we should support the country’s pandemic control policy. It’s also being responsible to others. So I brought my wife and my son here earlier for a test,” said Luo.
As required by Beijing authorities, people like Luo will need to show two more negative tests within two weeks of returning to the city. And the capital is not the only city to issue travel restrictions.
Duan Xiaobao, a Chengdu resident, who is going back to northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region for work, also has to provide a negative test made within seven days.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN
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