Avoid crowds for grave sweeping

March 12, 2020

Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi:
For the Ching Ming Festival, I think it’s a very important part of the Chinese culture, in particular, in worshipping their ancestors and visiting their tombs. We recommend people spread out their visits because from the numbers in the past, people tend to concentrate their visits on the Ching Ming Festival, also the two weeks before the Ching Ming Festival. So in order to avoid crowding, which will increase the spread of infectious diseases, what the Government advises is for the public to plan their trip ahead, try not to focus on Ching Ming Festival or the period close to the Ching Ming Festival. They can also use the electronic platform to do their ancestor remembrance. Also in private organisations sometimes they organise religious activities around those festive periods, so I also would communicate with those private organisations to advise their visitors not to focus or concentrate their visits on those very busy periods.

(To watch the full press briefing with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government today urged the public to stagger their visits to gravesites for the upcoming Ching Ming Festival to prevent overcrowding which could increase the spread of infectious diseases.

Under Secretary for Food & Health Dr Chui Tak-yi made the appeal during a press briefing this afternoon, noting that from past experience, people tended to go grave-sweeping in the two weeks before the festival or on the actual day.

“In order to avoid crowding, which will increase the spread of infectious diseases, what the Government advises is for the public to plan their trip ahead, try not to focus on the Ching Ming Festival or the period close to the Ching Ming Festival.”

Dr Chui also suggested people consider other ways to pay respects to their ancestors during the festival.

“They can also use the electronic platform to do their ancestor remembrance.

“Also in private organisations sometimes they organise religious activities around those festive periods, so I also would communicate with those private organisations to advise their visitors not to focus or concentrate their visits on those very busy periods.”