China, which nearly controlled the spread of the coronavirus last year, has reported a growing cluster of infections in a small city near the border with Myanmar, which is experiencing political unrest and a surge in the pandemic. Chinese security forces have increased their presence in the Yunnan province in southern China near the Myanmar border to prevent any illegal entry into its territory.
After an intensive testing campaign in the border city of Ruili, health authorities reported 15 local infections on Wednesday, including 12 Myanmar nationals. Myanmar, which has been facing serious unrest since the military coup on February 1 of this year, is one of the countries experiencing a rapid spread of the pandemic in recent weeks. The United Nations deemed the political situation in the country "catastrophic" on Tuesday, raising regional risks and potentially prompting some Myanmar citizens to cross the border to escape the fighting.
The top Communist Party official in Ruili announced on Wednesday that the genetic samples of the virus taken from the infected individuals are very similar to the Delta variant first identified in India. A lockdown has been imposed in the city, which has a population of about 270,000, requiring residents to stay at home. Schools and businesses have been closed, except for some markets, pharmacies, and hospitals.
Previously, three clusters in Ruili were quickly contained since the onset of the pandemic. China, the first country where the coronavirus outbreak occurred, has largely managed to control the virus since spring 2020, and life has returned to a considerable degree of normalcy in the country since then.
China reported a total of 57 new cases on Wednesday, the highest number since the end of January. However, aside from those recorded in Ruili, the new cases do not pose a significant risk as they generally result from inbound travelers from abroad, who are promptly subjected to hospital quarantine where they are isolated.
