Protective measures matter during holiday: China Daily editorial

The May Day holiday is just around the corner. Since this is the first five-day holiday after most parts of the country have reported zero new novel coronavirus infections, to travel may seem to be no big deal any more. Yet, while people will want to get out and about to enjoy the nice weather, and scenic spots are keen to get back to business as usual, preventive measures are still more than necessary to prevent the possible transmission of the virus.

It is estimated that scenic spots nationwide received more than 40 million visitors during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday in early April. The total number of visitors to scenic spots during the coming holiday will undoubtedly be more than that.

Which is why the Ministry of Culture and Tourism along with the National Health Commission have jointly released a notice requiring scenic spots to have tourists make a reservation for their visits, and the total number of visitors a scenic spot receives at any time should not exceed 30 percent of its potential full capacity. Visitors within a scenic spot should be allowed to enter sporadically to avoid any gatherings.

Given that there are still imported infections as people return from overseas, and there are reportedly nearly 1,000 asymptomatic people under observation, scenic spots need to adopt such measures to the letter lest some asymptomatic visitors who have no knowledge about their carrying the virus transmit it to other visitors.

The joint efforts of both the government and the public have achieved success in containing the spread of the virus, providing a relatively safe environment for people to travel. There should be no problem for them to choose to make a reservation to visit a scenic spot and enjoy themselves during the five-day holiday.

But it is important that they make necessary preparations to protect themselves. They need to carry with them enough face masks, sanitizers, hand disinfectant and, if necessary, gloves. They need to always wear face masks in public venues and never touch anything when back at a hotel before washing their hands. They should also remember to stay away from crowds.

For those who choose to stay at home and only visit the parks near their homes, they also need to adopt the same protective measures as the parks will likely be no less crowded than those well-known scenic spots. The cooperation and thoughtfulness of every individual makes a difference to the overall fight against the virus.

This long holiday will be a test for what the governments at all levels have been doing in the fight against the virus. If they continue to do a good job and make sure no new infections take place during the holiday, the country will hopefully get nearer to its final triumph in the fight against the novel coronavirus.