BEIJING -- China has asked its community medical institutions to improve their ability of early identification of COVID-19 cases as the country is seeing more cross-regional trips during the coming Spring Festival holiday.

Warning against the grave and complex situation in the fight against COVID-19 at present, the National Health Commission said in a circular that the country is facing heightened pressure in epidemic response that comes with the festival travel rush.

Local authorities are urged to guide primary health centers in both urban and rural areas to strengthen the management of fever clinics, report suspicious cases as soon as possible, and take measures to prevent transmission within hospitals.

Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, falls on Feb 1 this year. This year's Spring Festival travel season began on Jan 17 and will continue until Feb 25, with the number of passenger trips expected to reach 1.18 billion, up 35.6 percent year-on-year, official data shows.