An epidemic control worker checks the nucleic acid test results of a truck driver at a highway in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on December 3, 2021, after 10 newly discovered COVID-19 cases the previous day prompted the city to tighten control policies. Photo: Xinhua

Three places including a location for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games have issued notices to encourage citizens and workers to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival in the areas where they work in order to prevent the resurgence of COVID-19. Experts called for local governments to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, and take COVID-19 prevention measures accordingly, to balance virus prevention and guarantee people's lives.

The Economic and Technological Development Zone of Zhangjiakou, where the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be held, announced on Thursday that leaders and staff of local government-related institutions and state-owned enterprises should stay within the city during the Chinese New Year. Those who really need to leave the city must get approval in advance. 

They should also dissuade relatives and friends from medium- and high-risk areas from coming to Zhangjiakou, said the announcement.

Zhangjiakou, which is 180 kilometers from Beijing, will host 51 events in six disciplines - biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping and snowboarding - during the Olympic Winter Games, which are to be held in 54 days. No other zones or districts in Zhangjiakou had announced similar policies as of press time. 

Other two places - one each in South China's Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region - made similar calls.

Sanxiang township of Zhongshan city in Guangdong urged employees of different enterprises in the town on Saturday not to leave Guangdong if it's not necessary.

Pingxiang city in South China's Guangxi appealed to local shopowners and workers last week to stay put during the Spring Festival.

Some universities in Beijing including Peking University and Renmin University of China announced plans to start the winter vacation a week early. Others announced plans to finish in-class courses by the end of November and allow students to take final examinations online.

"Strict measures should be taken to prevent and control COVID-19 especially before the opening of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games," Zhang Boli, a medical expert and academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at an annual forum held by the Global Times on Saturday.

Zhang said that he believes that the global pandemic situation will get better after the Winter Olympics are over as the weather gets warmer. "By that time, Chinese people may get more flexibility in transportation and travel since the country may ease its anti-pandemic policies," added Zhang.

"As the risks of domestic coronavirus transmission may increase during the upcoming New Year and Spring Festival, greater efforts should be made in controlling the pandemic through a science-based and targeted approach to make sure of a healthy and safe festival for all Chinese people," said Wu Liangyou, a deputy director of the National Health Commission, at a press conference on Saturday.

Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times on Sunday that it is still too early to decide whether other places should follow suit in asking residents to stay put during the Chinese New Year. 

"China emphasizes precise pandemic control based on different conditions in different regions instead of implementing the same policy across the nation. The precise pandemic control reflects the balance China tries to keep between preventing the pandemic from spreading and guaranteeing people a  normal life, " said Wang.