Epidemic controls in parts of China’s southwestern province of Yunnan were tightened over the weekend as the region scrambled to contain a Covid-19 outbreak on the border with Myanmar.
The city of Ruili reported 12 Covid-19 cases on Saturday, health authorities said on Sunday, accounting for all of China’s new local infections that day and taking the number of active symptomatic cases in the province to 50.
The latest cases were uncovered during mass testing as the city experienced its fourth flare-up of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, this time amid fears over the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant.
Other areas in Yunnan tightened disease controls over the weekend, including the counties of Mangshi and Longchuan which closed public venues such as karaoke parlours, gyms, museums, theatres and scenic areas for one week starting Sunday.
Menglian county, also on the border, announced a ban on unnecessary travel in and out of the area, and, like several other local governments in the area, announced plans to launch mass Covid-19 testing, according to China’s state broadcaster.
The latest outbreak comes as neighbouring Myanmar battles its most severe epidemic since the start of the pandemic, with a high of more than 4,000 daily new cases recorded last week, according to the World Health Organization. The countries share a border of around 2,000km. Yunnan also borders Laos and Vietnam.
Provincial disease control officials last week said genome sequencing of samples from seven Ruili patients showed the strain was closely related to the Delta variant and similar to strains circulating in neighbouring countries. The source of the latest outbreak is not clear.