Advertisement
Coronavirus: China reports spike in new Covid-19 cases on its border with Myanmar
- Mainland China recorded 65 new confirmed cases for July 19, the most since January 30, when 92 new cases were reported
- Yunnan outbreak marks the second cluster of infections in China involving the highly contagious Delta strain
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
5
China on Tuesday reported the highest daily tally of new confirmed Covid-19 cases since January, driven by a surge in imported infections in southwestern Yunnan province, which shares a border with Myanmar.
Advertisement
Mainland China recorded 65 new confirmed cases for July 19, compared with 31 a day earlier, the National Health Commission said in a statement. That was the most since January 30, when 92 new cases were reported.
Imported infections accounted for most of the new cases reported for July 19, with Yunnan reporting 41 new cases originating from abroad, all of whom were Chinese nationals who had recently returned from Myanmar.
The current bout of cases in Yunnan started on July 4, and has been concentrated in Ruili and Longchuan, two small cities on China’s border with Myanmar, which has been hit by a sharp uptick in infections since June.
Ruili, battling its fourth outbreak since the pandemic started, reported seven new locally transmitted cases for July 19, while Longchuan had one.
Ruili is a key overland transit point for Yunnan, which has a 4,000km border with Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Advertisement
Advertisement