Yunnan city begins restrictions after three found to have virus

New round of nucleic acid testing to be carried out on everyone in urban areas

Ruili, a city in Yunnan province, has restricted people's movements since Monday morning after reporting three new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

More new cases may be found following nucleic acid testing, according to local authorities.

Two of the three male patients are Chinese, with the other one from Myanmar. They tested positive for novel coronavirus infection in Jiegao, a border community in Ruili, during citywide nucleic acid testing, and were sent to a designated hospital for treatment. None of them is in serious condition, Shang Labian, mayor of Ruili, told a news conference on Monday.

No one has been allowed to enter or leave Ruili without good cause since 8 am on Monday. All residents in Jiegao have been quarantined at home and their health conditions will be monitored every day. The Jiegao Bridge, which leads to Jiegao port on the China-Myanmar border, has been closed. An epidemiological survey into contacts of the patients is being conducted, and 903 medical workers from other regions have been sent to Ruili to help with epidemic control, Shang said.

A new round of nucleic acid testing that began on Monday morning will conclude on Tuesday and cover all people in urban areas of Ruili and its Wanding town. Jiegao has sufficient daily supplies and the price of commodities will be kept stable, the mayor said.

Long Yujuan works at a beauty salon in Ruili, which is a 15-minute drive from Jiegao. She said the number of customers in the store is strictly controlled, and they must show a negative test result for the virus carried out in the past three days. She said she is going out less.

"I have been tested for the virus and was vaccinated," Long said. "The epidemic has a great impact on our business. I hope all people can cooperate so we can return to normal life as soon as possible."

He Xiaobin, who works for a real estate company in Ruili, said he had been tested twice in recent days. He said he doesn't feel nervous about the outbreak, due to the government's effort in stopping the spread of the virus.

Wang Bo, who is in charge of nucleic acid testing at a site in Ruili's Xing'an community, said residents had been organized to do the test in batches to avoid the formation of crowds, and residents have shown great support.

"We completed testing of 578 people from 359 families from morning to noon," he said.

According to a local government notice, those who work or live in Ruili can enter the city with valid certificates. Those who have to leave the city need to get approval from the local epidemic prevention and control department and show a negative test result for the virus from the previous three days. The notice called on all people who have left Ruili since June 20 to report to their communities and undergo nucleic acid testing.