All people planning to travel within the country to their hometowns during the upcoming Spring Festival will have to provide evidence of negative COVID-19 test results prior to departure, a top Chinese public health official said on Wednesday.
"If [they] have to go home, those who plan to go home need to provide negative COVID-19 test results taken within seven days of their departure," Wang Bin, an official from the Chinese National health Commission, said during a press conference.
Wang added that the travelers would be placed under constant surveillance by local governments upon their return.
The National Health Commission listed additional requirements for the domestic travelers upon their return to their hometowns in rural areas in China. According to a statement from the agency, those returnees would be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days upon arrival and would be asked to do a COVID-19 test every seven days.
A resurgence of COVID-19 cases have been seen in a number of provinces in northern China in recent weeks, when hundreds of new infections were detected.
In response, local authorities stepped up their containment measures by placing dozens of residential districts under strict lockdown.
Nevertheless, an official from the transportation department said during the press conference on Wednesday that travelers are expected make 1.7 billion trips during the upcoming Spring Festival.