Travel policies for this year's Spring Festival, which will fall in early February, should be devised based on COVID-19 risk appraisals of different regions and groups, health officials and experts said on Saturday.

"Whether or not it is necessary to stay put for the Spring Festival should be based on risk evaluations and should not be uniform across the country," said Liang Wannian, a national-level disease control expert, during a news briefing.

He said increased movement during the Spring Festival travel rush, coupled with diminished immunity against respiratory diseases during winter, will indeed lead to heightened risk of the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses.

However, China has also gained several advantages, such as its high COVID-19 vaccination coverage, and its prompt control of local outbreaks.

Liang added that regions currently seeing new infections, port and border areas, as well as cities such as Beijing that are preparing for the 2022 Winter Games, should stick to relatively rigorous control measures.