Concerns Over COVID-19 Resurgence in China as 8-Day National Day Holiday Begins

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism Forecasts 550 Million Movements During Holiday Period... Expecting Domestic Demand Normalization
Infectious Disease Experts Urge "Maintaining COVID-19 Vigilance"

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The Chinese National Day holiday (October 1) has begun.

The National Day holiday is one of the two major holidays in China, along with the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). This year, National Day coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival (Chuseok), resulting in an official holiday period of 8 days. By using additional leave days, it is possible to take up to 16 days off.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism expects domestic travelers in China to reach 550 million (total visits) during this holiday. This is a decrease compared to the usual 700 to 800 million. The decline appears to be due to the impossibility of overseas travel and ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

This National Day holiday is the first holiday period since the global COVID-19 pandemic, causing Chinese health authorities to remain vigilant.

Local governments across China continue to enforce strict quarantine measures at major tourist sites, including limiting the number of visitors, temperature checks, and registering visit information through QR code scans.

For example, the Forbidden City, which attracts 15 million tourists annually, limits daily visitors to 12,000. Entry is allowed for 7,000 people in the morning and 5,000 in the afternoon only. Visitors must make online reservations in advance and must carry a mobile phone (Health Kit), and identification at all times. Wearing masks is also mandatory.

Although concerns about a resurgence of COVID-19 remain, the Chinese government hopes that the domestic economy will fully recover during this holiday period.

To this end, the Chinese government is implementing extensive domestic consumption promotion measures, such as free admission or discounted tickets at over 1,500 tourist sites nationwide.

Wu Zunyou, Chief Epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, appeared on CCTV and reassured the public about National Day travel by stating, "The places where the COVID-19 virus exists in China are patients or laboratories; the virus is not present in society."

On the other hand, Zhang Wanhong, Head of Infectious Diseases at Fudan University, said, "Currently, more than 90% of people can live normally," but also cautioned, "We still need to remain vigilant."