Chinese tourists sightsee on the Bund next to the Huangpu River in Shanghai, during the 2021 New Year holidays. Photo: VCG

Facing the upcoming travel frenzy during May Day holidays, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that citizens returning from a trip should isolate for 14 days and must take precautions to prevent infecting others. If there are symptoms of COVID-19, people should seek medical advice in time and inform doctors of their travel history. 

According to the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, the combination of factors such as the effective prevention and control of the domestic COVID-19 epidemic and the strong recovery of the economy, have led to a high demand for travel during the five-day May Day holidays with the national passenger flow expected to reach 250 million.

The Chinese CDC points out that China still needs to continue focusing on prevention of COVID-19 during the May Day holidays due to the high risk of imported COVID-19 cases during this period. 

Although most places in China are currently COVID-19 low risk areas, the virus continues to be prevalent in many countries and regions around the world. Some countries have even experienced a sharp rebound in infections in addition to the fact that vaccination rates are still low in the vast majority of countries. The immunity barrier will not be achieved in the short term, the CDC noted.

The CDC made a call to people to avoid crowded confined spaces and poorly ventilated areas during holiday travel and wear a mask on airplanes, trains and other public transportation. 

The CDC believes it is essential for people to continuously monitor their own health and asked citizens to seek medical attention if they develop COVID-related symptoms and to take precautions against infecting others.

At the same time, people should also receive the COVID-19 vaccine during the holidays and should not delay with the second dose because of travel, the CDC reminded.