A report released by leading human resource service provider 51job.com show that 66.7 percent of the working people will choose to spend the upcoming Spring Festival in places they work to minimize people’s movement and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, Chinanews.com reported.

Photo taken on Jan. 14, 2021 shows light decorations for the upcoming Spring Festival in Qujiang New Area in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The Spring Festival falls on Feb. 12 this year. (Xinhua/Shao Rui)

Of the respondents, 16.8 percent said they want to return home or are still thinking about returning home, and 37.2 percent, mostly of whom are people working in the internet, service and manufacturing industries, said they want to stay on duty.

25.6 percent of the respondents said their employers will give higher salaries to people who are willing to stay on duty during the holidays. To retain employees, some companies will release consumption coupons, provide house rental subsidies, or give their employees a paid leave to visit their families and relatives after the holidays.

The 2021 Spring Festival travel season, which will begin on Jan. 28, is a period that lasts around 40 days. Official data indicates that train bookings for the Spring Festival travel peak declined by 60 percent, with the total number of passengers only reaching 296 million.

Over 20 cities and provinces across China are encouraging workers to stay where they currently live and work instead of returning to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, including Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai, and Hebei, Henan and Guangdong provinces.