Chinese Border Region Reports 49 New COVID-19 Cases Among Nationals Returning From Russia

Chinese Border Region Reports 49 New COVID-19 Cases Among Nationals Returning From Russia

A total of 49 new COVID-19 cases have been registered over the past 24 hours in China's Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia, among Chinese nationals who have traveled from Russia, the regional health commission said on Monday

BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2020) A total of 49 new COVID-19 cases have been registered over the past 24 hours in China's Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia, among Chinese nationals who have traveled from Russia, the regional health commission said on Monday.

According to the statement, out of the 49 newly infected people, 27 were previously considered asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus. Symptoms became active while they were under medical supervision and these patients were included in the statistics of confirmed imported cases.

As of Monday, the province has reported 247 confirmed imported COVID-19 cases with another 118 asymptomatic cases, the statement added. In China's official COVID-19 statistics, asymptomatic cases are listed separately and are not included in the total number of confirmed cases.

As the number of COVID-19 cases began to rise in Russia in recent weeks, a growing number of Chinese nationals tried to return home. After the number of direct flights between the two countries has significantly fallen amid the global pandemic, many Chinese nationals decided to fly from Moscow to Vladivostok before trying to cross the border at the Pogranichny-Suifenhe checkpoint.

In response to the growing number of imported cases in Suifenhe, the Chinese authorities decided to lock down all residential buildings there and temporarily close the Pogranichny-Suifenhe checkpoint to passenger traffic.