A medical worker collects a swab sample at a nucleic acid testing site in Ejina Banner of Alxa League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Oct 22, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

China's National Immigration Administration has taken a series of actions to strengthen prevention work on border ports amid the latest flare-ups in China, including no-contact methods to take over imported goods and intensifying border patrol to crack down on illegal border crossing. 

The Global Times has learned from the National Immigration Administration on Thursday that all immigration, entry and exit management departments across China are required to firmly implement strategies on preventing imported cases and flare-ups domestically.

A series of measures have been taken, including guiding citizens not to go abroad if it is not necessary and strictly implement entry policies for foreigners. For athletes coming to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics, they will be under a closed-loop management to ensure the safety of the prevention work.

The National Immigration Administration also asked border ports to strengthen management on overseas flights and charted flights; carry on the policies of no boarding or no stopping if not necessary for overseas ships. Trucks that go through the land border ports should use designated routes. No-contact models should be taken for the imported goods to prevent spreading of the coronavirus via imported goods or related working staff.

The authority also asked related departments to intensify border patrols and promote law enforcement with neighboring countries to prevent spreading of the virus. There should be guards on frozen boundary rivers to stop illegal border crossing. 

The recent flare-ups of COVID-19 epidemic in China has spread to 19 provinces and cities with more than 700 confirmed cases reported within one month. 

The two main threads of the recent wave started in Ejin Banner in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heihe, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, both land border ports with cross-border trade, or where migrating wild animals could cross the border. These could provide transmission chains for the virus from abroad, and Chinese health authorities have made it clear that the outbreaks were triggered by two different sources of the virus brought from overseas.

Global Times