China’s recent COVID-19 outbreak is developing rapidly, a health official said as authorities demand high vigilance at ports of entry amid growing infections in a northeast border town caused by the virus arriving from abroad.
From October 17-29, 377 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms were reported, data from the National Health Commission (NHC) showed. China has battled a number of outbreaks this year since it largely contained national spread in early 2020.
The numbers remain tiny compared to clusters outside of the country. However, while the rest of the world is trying to coexist with COVID, China has maintained its zero tolerance policy and urged vigilance in border areas and ports to prevent infected travelers from spreading the virus to locals.
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“Within the past 14 days, 14 provincial areas have reported new locally transmitted cases or asymptomatic carriers,” NHC spokesman Mi Feng said on Saturday.
“The outbreak is still developing rapidly and the virus control situation is serious and complex.”
Heihe, a small northeastern town of 1.3 million people, located on the Chinese side of the Amur River on the border with Russia, reported 26 local cases as of October 29, a sharp increase from nine on October 28 and only one on October 27th.
“The outbreak exposed the laxity of the minds of some local authorities,” said Wu Liangyou, another NHC official.
China, especially ports of entry, should step up test screening of people at high risk of infection and improve monitoring of potential flare-ups as the virus is still spreading to surrounding countries, Wu said in a press conference.
Surveys and virus sequencing results showed that the Heihe cluster had nothing to do with an ongoing outbreak that mainly affected northwestern parts of China, suggesting that there was a new source of virus from overseas, Wu said.
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Many local infections found in north and northwest China since October 17 could be traced back to a source of the virus brought in from overseas, the NHC said last week.
China’s border cities, many of which have relatively few resources, tended to suffer more disruption than richer cities during the outbreaks.
The small town of Ruili in the southwest, bordering Myanmar, has seen its once robust jewelry trading business, a pillar of its humble economy, dampened by some of the toughest virus measures in China due to repeated outbreaks.
In major cities, officials at major international events have promised strict virus restrictions to minimize the risk of imported viruses.
In order to safely host the Winter Olympics in February, Chinese athletes and staff who support the event must receive a booster vaccination.
China aims to complete vaccination of children ages three to eleven by the end of December, excluding those with conditions that could make COVID-19 vaccination harmful, Wu said.
It has already fully vaccinated about 75.8% of its 1.4 billion population and is giving eligible adults a booster shot.
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