Photo:VCG

Many Chinese cities have cancelled New Year's Eve events as a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, with the Northwest Xi'an's lockdown measure continues into the ninth day.

The popular Happy Valley amusement park in China's capital city Beijing has cancelled its New Year's Eve theme activity scheduled on Friday night, according to a notice released by the park.

The Great World amusement park in East China's Shanghai on Wednesday denied the information posted on the internet that it will hold special events including a count-down, artificial snowfall, and a night market, saying the park will not hold special activities for New Year's Eve this year.

Southern city Guangzhou on Thursday issued a notice that the city's public places including Canton Tower will not host countdown events.

Other cities including Wuhan in central China, Nanjing in East China, and Guiyang in Southwest China all issued similar notice and reminded residents to take steps to ensure public health and safety.

China reported 166 local confirmed COVID-19 cases for Thursday, according to the National Health Commission (NHC), with 161 cases reported in Xian, which is in the midst of fighting a recent flare-up.

As the New Year and Spring Festival holidays approach, authorities in China recently warned the transmitting risks of COVID-19 and rolled out prevention measures to prepare for the upcoming holidays.

A total of 15 supervision teams will inspect all regions in China to strengthen epidemic prevention and control during the two holidays, Mi Feng, spokesperson from the NHC said on Wednesday.

Global Times