COVID-19 Cases Rising In China Again, As Chinese Citizens Return From Abroad

While the whole world has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, China seemed to have things under control with cases plateauing and actually dipping than earlier.

In fact, China had also started the process of re-opening its business complexes and factories with many people going back to work. Everything seemed to going back to normal, until a resurgence of cases over the weekend.

Reuters

However, a recent report by the Guardian has revealed that COVID-19 cases in China have been rising over the past few days. China¡¯s National Health Commission has reported 108 new infections on Sunday, more than Saturday's number -- which was 99 -- and Friday's (46 new infections) as well.

However, what¡¯s more astonishing is the fact that 10 cases from these were imported, while seven of the local cases were from the Heilongjiang province in the northern region of China, which is very close to the Russian border. Authorities noticed a rise in Chinese people with COVID-19 crossing the Russian border and coming back to their homeland.

In Shanghai, 51 Chinese nationals flying in on the same flight from Russia tested positive while 21 cases involved Chinese nationals travelling from Russia to the northeastern Heilongjiang province.

Authorities have already ramped up restrictions and set up a Wuhan-like lockdown in the capital Harbin, as well as the border city Suifenhe. Since Russia ceased all flights and closed land border to incoming traffic in February, Suifenhe was a prominent route for people to return to China.

Reuters

According to Reuters, the border city of Suifenhe and Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang, said they would require all arrivals from abroad to undergo 28 days of quarantine, as well as nucleic acid and antibody tests.

Moreover, authorities also intend to lock down residential units where confirmed and asymptomatic coronavirus cases (positive cases without any symptoms) are found for 14 days.

In Hubei province where the whole mayhem started, authorities have reported two new deaths, but no new cases of infection. Today, the total death toll for COVID-19 related cases in China sits at 3,341 according to health officials in China.