Stay home during upcoming holiday season, China advises citizens amid virus fears

Health authorities ask people to avoid cross-provincial travel as fears of COVID-19 spread loom

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – China asked its citizens to avoid traveling during the upcoming holiday season over fears of COVID-19 spread.

The country’s health authorities on Thursday urged people “to stay put” during the upcoming national day holidays beginning Saturday, Chinese daily Global Times reported.

The report added the step is “to cut the spread of the virus.”

China, which has implemented strict measures including complete lockdowns to curtail virus spread, asked people to hold negative test results within 48 hours if traveling to other provinces by train, air, or bus from Saturday to Oct. 31.

The country’s transport authorities expect around 24 million passenger trips daily during the mid-autumn festival holidays.

According to the National Health Commission, China reported 241 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

The country of over 1.4 billion people has reported 246,027 COVID-19 cases, including 5,226 deaths, since December 2019.

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