Shenzhen residents are advised to avoid unnecessary travel during the upcoming May Day holiday, which will last five days beginning Saturday, according to a notice issued by the city’s COVID-19 Prevention and Control Headquarters Office yesterday.

The office calls on all residents to stay in Shenzhen for the holiday and avoid leaving the city and the province unless the trips are necessary, as well as going to medium- and high-risk areas for COVID and COVID-affected areas.

Leaders of all levels of Party and government agencies, public institutions and State-owned enterprises should stay in the city for the holiday, as per the notice. All staffers are urged not to leave Shenzhen unless necessary and must ask for their employers’ approval in advance for out-of-town trips. They are prohibited from going to medium- and high-risk areas.

According to the notice, travel agencies and online travel service providers must suspend operating domestic group travel to places with medium- and high-risk areas and to land border cities outside Guangdong, as well as international group travel.

In principle, all teachers and students should stay in Shenzhen during the holiday. Those returning from medium- and high-risk areas will be subject to strict COVID prevention and control measures.

Those returning from cities without medium- and high-risk areas must undergo a three-day home health monitoring and three daily nucleic acid tests after returning to Shenzhen.

All teachers and students returning to schools after holiday must present either a negative 24-hour nucleic acid test result or a negative 48-hour nucleic acid test result plus a record of a nucleic acid test taken within 24 hours.

Arrivals to Shenzhen must present a negative nucleic acid test result issued within 48 hours and they are also required to declare it on the “深i您” WeChat miniprogram 24 hours before arrival and report to their communities, workplaces or hotels upon arrival, according to the notice.

Truckers who have traveled to cities with medium- and high-risk areas in the past 14 days should in principle declare information 24 hours before arriving in the city.

During the holiday, large-scale gatherings are required to be reduced and the number of people in gatherings held in indoor venues should be no more than 50 in principle.

All tourist attractions, parks and indoor entertainment venues across the city will operate at 75% capacity and receive appointed visits. Visitors with an asterisk on their travel record as well as yellow and red health code holders are not allowed to enter.