Coronavirus: China reinforces borders as it tries to fend off another wave of infections, especially from Russia

Guangzhou comes in for criticism as it orders all citizens of ‘high-risk’ countries – many of them in Africa – to spend 14 days in quarantine

Medical crews sent to northern city to bolster health system overwhelmed with cases among people returning from Russia

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The Chinese border city of Suifenhe in Heilongjiang province has been overwhelmed by coronavirus cases among people returning from Russia. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:29pm, 13 Apr 2020Updated: 12:25am, 14 Apr 2020

China is taking extra measures to stem the influx of imported cases of coronavirus, particularly from Russia after a small border city reported a dramatic jump in new cases among arrivals.

The pandemic, which was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, has appeared to wane in China in recent weeks but has continued to ravage other countries, infecting more than 1.8 million people and killing over 114,000 around the world.

On Sunday, China reported 108 new confirmed cases – all but 10 of them imported. It was the highest daily total since March 5 and added to concerns that a new wave of infections could disrupt Beijing’s plan to bring life back to normal after four months of battling the virus.

China is also worried that in addition to Russia, increased traffic from Africa could result in imported cases in Guangzhou – the country’s southern gateway city.

China considers countries on the continent to be high-risk because of their fragile health systems and rise in new cases.

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