Two Chinese border cities limit rail imports amid COVID outbreak in the north

BEIJING, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Two Chinese border cities are halting some commodity imports by rail to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infections coming in from other countries amid a fresh resurgence of the disease in northern areas of China.

Erenhot city, a key transit hub next to Mongolia, suspended from Sunday certain non-containerised imports by rail that require manual loading and unloading to prevent virus transmission, according to a local government statement.

These include some cargoes for coal, oil, copper ore, zinc and iron ore.

Suifenhe city which lies on the border with Russia halted from Tuesday some non-container goods arriving from overseas by rail, such as those for coal and non-gold mineral ore, according to state and local media. read more

Inner Mongolia, where Erenhot is located, reported 41 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms in the Nov. 28-29 period, official data showed. Heilongjiang province where Suifenhe is located, detected one local asymptomatic carrier over the same period.

The two cities did report any local infections over the weekend, but the new restrictions underline Beijing’s zero tolerance stance towards letting the virus spread. The cities did not say when the restrictions might be lifted.

The current outbreak is much smaller than many outbreaks outside China, but affected Chinese cities have quickly imposed travel restrictions and closed public venues. read more

National authorities vowed this month to step up virus control in border areas, demanding strict implementation of prevention measures on imported cargo at land ports, flights and ships. read more

The northeastern cities Huichun and Dongning, both along the border with Russia, have suspended from mid-November some non-essential imports by highways, such as wine, milk and chocolate, to reduce infection risks.

As of Nov. 29, mainland China has reported 98,711 confirmed symptomatic cases, including both local ones and those arriving from overseas. The death toll remained unchanged at 4,636.

Reporting by Roxanne Liu and Gabriel Crossley; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Edwina Gibbs

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