Record high in imported cases sounding alarm

Task of curbing rebound of locally transmitted infections also daunting

China reported a record high of 98 new imported novel coronavirus cases on Sunday and an uptick in locally transmitted cases. Health authorities also raced to send medical experts and supplies to badly affected cities near ports or land crossings, and border control officials stepped up checks on travelers.

The National Health Commission said on Monday that 108 new confirmed cases were added on Sunday, up from 99 the previous day. The accumulative number of imported cases grew by 98 on Sunday to 1,378, with no fatalities.

The 10 domestic cases detected on Sunday also marked the highest daily local infections since March 11, commission spokesman Mi Feng said at a news conference on Monday.

"The task of preventing imported infections while curbing a rebound at home is grim and allows no relaxation," he said.

National and regional authorities have rushed medical expert teams to border cities to beef up their epidemic-control capabilities and strengthen their testing and treatment, said Wang Bin, head of the commission's disease control bureau.

"Medical resources in most counties and cities close to land borders, such as Suifenhe in Heilongjiang province, are not sufficient to cope with an outbreak. So the chief concern is to rapidly build up the capacities of local medical institutions, constructing the first line of defense against the disease," Wang said at the news conference.

"We will also help coordinate supplies of medical equipment, testing kits, laboratory devices and protective suits in these regions, aimed at improving their virus control ability within a short span," she added.

As of Monday, at least 243 people with confirmed infections had entered from Russia via the highway port of entry at Suifenhe, and all of them are Chinese nationals. The port was closed on April 7 and the remote city of about 70,000 people was put under lockdown the next day.

Mi, the spokesman, said that the commission also sent two teams including medical experts and officials to the city. The experts included specialists in infectious disease control, respiratory diseases and as public health. "More medical aid will be sent there depending on the developments of the local epidemic situation," he added.

With the virus continuing to spread rapidly in other countries, China is enforcing strict quarantine measures on all incoming passengers, with the majority being quarantined for 14 days.

Some who are deemed at lower risk of contracting the virus can opt for two nucleic acid tests and one antibody test at the third and fifth day of isolation. If all three tests come back negative, they are allowed to self isolate at home for the last seven days of the quarantine period, according to Wang.

"Preliminary analysis shows that 70 percent of imported cases were detected when the people in question were under quarantine. It shows that strict implementation of quarantine measures are necessary," Wang said.

As the contagion risk stemming from land crossings is rising, immigration officials are also stepping up control at borders, including nearby mountain roads and small pathways, said Liu Haitao, director of the National Immigration Administration's border inspection department.

"By suspending nonessential cross-border travel, the number of people exiting or entering through land borders nationwide has fallen by 90 percent," he said. "We have also added manpower at land crossing points and increased patrol frequencies to clamp down on illegal activities."

Immigration officials in Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have uncovered three cases involving transporting people across borders illegally and busted four criminal gangs, Liu said.

"Sneaking across national borders during the pandemic will add to the risk of importing the pathogen from overseas," he added.

To guard against the threat posed by asymptomatic individuals, Jin Hai, head of the General Administration of Customs' Department of General Operation, said customs officials have intensified epidemiological investigation to cover all incoming travelers who have travel histories in hard-hit regions and who show relevant symptoms.

Since April 1, customs and local governments have joined efforts to conduct nucleic acid tests on all travelers entering through air, waterway or land crossings.