Reservations are mandatory for tomb sweepers who plan to visit city cemeteries during peak times for this year's Qingming Festival, an effort to stagger visitors and curb the spread of COVID-19, the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau announced on Monday.

This year's Qingming Festival, a time for Chinese people to pay respects to their ancestors, falls on April 5.

Reservations can be made beginning on March 18 via WeChat or by phone for the four peak days – April 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The city's tomb-sweeping season began today, about two weeks earlier than usual, to prevent gatherings.

The city's 54 cemeteries and columbariums are projected to receive close to 4.4 million visits over the next month, putting an extra 754,700 vehicles on city streets, a slight increase over the same period last year, according to the bureau. More than 10,200 urns are projected to be interred.

The busiest day is forecast to be April 5, when close to 1.2 million people are predicted to visit cemeteries, adding an extra 202,400 vehicles to city streets.

Online tomb sweeping is available for those who can't travel, and cemetery staff will sweep tombs for families upon request.

Cemeteries have been ordered to strictly implement COVID-19 prevention measures, such as controlling the number of visitors, enhancing disinfection and monitoring people's health.