After lifting most of the measures to contain the pandemic, China is trying to prevent the possibility of a new major domestic epidemic of covid-19 during this month's rush of travelers to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year.
On Friday, the Ministry of Transport called on citizens to reduce travel and gatherings, especially if they are elderly, pregnant women, children and those who are already sick.
Citizens are invited to use masks in public transport and to pay special attention to their health and personal hygiene, Vice President Xu Chenguang told reporters.
Xu said authorities expect more than two billion trips during the week-long holiday, which is the most important in the traditional Chinese calendar for visiting family and friends. The expected number of trips is almost twice as high as last year and 70 percent higher than at the same time in 2019, before the pandemic, Sue said.
The desire for family visits and tourism "has built up over the past three years of the pandemic and cannot be satisfied all at once," Sue said.
"We encourage people to plan their trips based on the situation they and their relatives are in," he said.
China abruptly ended its strict regime of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing in December amid growing concerns about the economic fallout and massive public protests.
China announced on Sunday that it is lifting the mandatory quarantine for people arriving from abroad.
It now seems that the epidemic has spread most rapidly in densely populated cities, putting pressure on the health system. Authorities are concerned about the possible spread of the infection to smaller towns and villages that lack health facilities such as intensive care units.
Around the world, a growing number of countries are requiring virus tests for travelers from China, saying they are necessary because the Chinese government is not sharing enough information about the outbreak, especially about the potential emergence of new variants of the virus.
On Wednesday, the European Union "strongly encouraged" its members to impose testing of travelers from China for Covid-19, and the World Health Organization expressed concern about the lack of data from China, while the US requires a negative test result for travelers from China.
China criticized the demands and warned that it could introduce countermeasures against those countries. Chinese officials said the situation was under control and dismissed criticism.
China is also gradually opening up to visits by foreign officials, hosting Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. this Sunday, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to make his first visit to Beijing this month or next, to would meet with China's new foreign minister, Qin Gang, the former Chinese ambassador to Washington.
Bonus video:
