THE COVID-19 Prevention and Control Command Office of Guangdong Province issued an urgent notice yesterday and called on residents in the province to avoid trans-provincial travel and gatherings.

The office warned citizens against traveling to medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19 as well as leaving the province and the country unless the trips are necessary.

Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 have been reported in several provinces in the country.

A number of government departments in Shenzhen have also released the latest measures for epidemic prevention and control yesterday, reminding citizens not to leave Shenzhen unless necessary and avoid going to medium- and high-risk areas.

According to the municipal education bureau, teachers and students in Shenzhen, in principle, should stay in the city for the summer vacation. Those who have outbound trips should return to Shenzhen for health declaration 14 days before the start of the new semester.

Arrivals to Shenzhen from medium- and high-risk areas must go for free testing upon arrival at nucleic acid testing sites set up across the city, said the city’s health commission.

Nucleic acid testing sites are also set up in Bao’an International Airport, railway stations, bus stations and ferry terminals.

The Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reminded citizens to pay close attention to COVID-19’s development at home and abroad, and avoid going to medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19 in the near term.

If citizens really need to travel, the CDC advises them to wear masks, wash hands frequently and avoid group gatherings. Meanwhile, arrivals to Shenzhen from medium- and high-risk areas must report to their communities in a timely manner.

Citizens can log onto the WeChat miniprogram “国务院客户端” (guowuyuan kehuduan) and click the “疫情风险查询” (epidemic risk inquiry) column to inquire about medium- and high-risk areas for COVID-19 in China.

In addition to reporting to their communities, the CDC recommends arrivals to Shenzhen from medium- and high-risk areas to comply with epidemic prevention and control measures such as nucleic acid testing, medical observation or health monitoring.

(Zhang Yu)