China beefs up COVID-19 control during May Day holiday: official

BEIJING -- China beefed up COVID-19 control measures during the May Day holiday amid the country's resolute efforts to prevent the epidemic from rebounding, said an official from the National Health Commission (NHC).

Epidemic prevention measures were strictly implemented in transportation carriers, hotels and restaurants by local authorities. Scenic spots across the country imposed restrictions on tourist flows to avoid mass gathering, said deputy director of the NHC Li Bin at a press conference Friday.

The State Council joint prevention and control mechanism sent a liaison group and a supervisory group to Hubei and Heilongjiang provinces, respectively, to inspect and urge the implementation of epidemic control measures during the holiday.

Meanwhile, the NHC dispatched guiding groups to eight border regions including Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Yunnan Province to oversee the prevention and control of imported cases and related capacity building, said Li.