The closure of the Chinese city Wuhan, cradle of Covid-19, was lifted on Wednesday April 8, 2020. But the same day, 2 000 km away, the town of Suifenhe, in the province of Heilongjiang (northeast), decided to confine its 70,000 inhabitants.
This city has become one of the main road border posts with the Russia since the suspension, at the end of March 2020, by the Russian authorities, of all international air links.
Because, in the process, many travelers on Russian soil took domestic flights to Vladivostok (in the east of the country), from where they then joined Suifenhe by road, 200 km away.
The Heilongjiang Health Commission has announced in recent days a disturbing increase in the number of infected people arriving in the province from abroad: twenty-five Wednesday April 8, 2020, then forty Thursday April 9, 2020.
All are Chinese coming from Russia.
The Covid-19 epidemic is contained in China: the official number of new deaths has been less than five a day there for the past week. But the authorities remain on the alert in the face of imported cases, which could trigger a second epidemic wave.
However, the new coronavirus is advancing in Russia, with now close to 9,000 cases identified and 63 dead. The trend has accelerated in recent days, with some 1,000 additional cases on Wednesday April 8, 2020.
In response, Suifenhe has closed its border to travelers, but now keeps it open to goods, the official news agency said on Thursday April 9, 2020 New china, citing the mayor of the town.
Suifenhe has also decided, since Wednesday, April 8, 2020, to confine all of its living quarters. A drastic measure recalling that applied in Wuhan between the end of January and the beginning of April 2020.
Finally, the municipality is building a temporary 600-bed hospital in an existing building, said New china.
Construction is expected to be completed on Saturday April 11, 2020, and about 400 healthcare workers are expected to work on it, according to the news agency.
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