MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2020) The Chinese city of Suifenhe, which borders Russia's Primorsky region, has become the country's leader in imported asymptomatic coronavirus infections, the regional Russian mission said Friday citing local health authorities.
A day prior, the Heilongjian provincial authorities ordered that border crossings and train connections be shut down with Russia for fear of additional import cases.
The Russian consulate in regional capital Harbin said that the local health commission has counted 155 imported cases of coronavirus, 152 of which were symptom-free.
"In statistics of imported coronavirus infections from abroad across China, the border city [Siufenhe] on April 9 stood at fourth place in confirmed cases of infection and first place in the number of asymptomatic carriers," the consulate said in a statement.
The consulate added that mitigation measures have been tightened throughout the region and placed a number of people with suspected infections under strict quarantine.
Additionally, a medical team was dispatched from Harbin to Siufenhe with enhanced equipment to carry out tests and trace a possible spread.
The Heilongjian province spans more than 1,200 miles of the Sino-Russian border and the two sides traditionally experience extensive trade and have large diasporas from either side.
The spread of COVID-19 in China has slowed to a crawl, with most new cases in the country coming in from abroad.
Earlier this week, China lifted a months-long lockdown on the central city of Wuhan, where the virus originated, but citizens and authorities remain cautious of a possible new spike if measures are loosened hastily.
