BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Two universities in Beijing announced on Saturday the winter vacation would start earlier than usual, in an effort to reduce the pressure of COVID-19 control on campus.

Guo Yong, deputy Party secretary of Tsinghua University, said on Saturday that the winter vacation for undergraduate students would last from Jan. 11 to Feb. 21. Graduate students and teachers engaged in teaching and research work are required to take the vacation between Jan. 14 and Feb. 19.

The school will strictly implement epidemic control measures on campus. Visitors are required to show healthy green codes or nucleic acid test certificates negative for COVID-19 before entering the school, Guo said.

Zhu Guanghao, deputy Party secretary of Beijing International Studies University, said that the school started arranging for students to leave for winter vacations in batches on Dec. 14 and Dec. 31, 2020.

The Chinese capital has tightened measures to tackle COVID-19, as 25 locally transmitted confirmed cases were reported between Dec. 18 and Jan. 1. By Saturday, the city had designated seven areas as medium-risk.