Due to Covid-19, China stopped intercity travel to localities with land border gates

The notice of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China stated that, starting from December 18, travel agencies and online travel platforms will have to suspend providing cross-province tour services to and from cities with border gates on the mainland. Air ticket booking services combined with hotel rooms here are also prohibited. However, the cities connected to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China) and Macau (China) are not included in this category. This new policy will be in effect until March 15, 2022.

Mr. Liang Wannian, head of the expert team to deal with Covid-19 of the National Health Commission of China. Photo: china.com.cn

The ministry also requested that any province or city identified as having a medium and high risk area due to the Covid-19 epidemic would have to suspend cross-province travel immediately.

The new policy comes after a number of border cities in China suffered from sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks recently and the country has continuously experienced outbreaks in many localities since the beginning of winter until now.

In the context of the approaching New Year and Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China also requires travel agencies and online travel platforms to strictly comply with epidemic prevention regulations.

Regarding the fact that some localities urged people to 'celebrate Tet on the spot', speaking at a press conference on December 18, Mr. Luong Van Nien, leader of the Covid-19 response team of the National Health Commission. China says:

'On whether to celebrate Tet on the spot or not needs to be based on research and risk assessment, it is not possible to implement a general policy across the country, but needs to be suitable to the conditions of each locality.'

However, he also recommended that medium and high-risk areas, border crossings, border cities and cities where important events take place should take strict epidemic prevention and control measures.

As the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the capital Beijing has decided to cut back on public events, strictly restricting large-scale art performances, exhibitions and promotional sales, sporting events and other mass activities; reduce travel during the winter holiday with a call for people to stay in the city during the upcoming New Year and Lunar New Year holidays.

As of December 17, China has injected more than 2.66 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with more than 1.18 billion people having completed full vaccination, accounting for more than 84% of the population.

Bich Thuan/VOV-Beijing

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