Chinese city delays clearing travelers, cargos at port after one COVID infection

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where the first cluster of cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) emerged, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, January 15, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

BEIJING — A Chinese city next to the Vietnam border postponed from Tuesday the clearing of travelers and cargos to pass through its port of entry on COVID-19 concerns, state media reported.

Dongxing city in the autonomous Chinese region of Guangxi advised that exports and imports of urgent cargos should be planned to avoid loss from the waiting, state broadcaster CCTV said in a report.

The measure is part of the city’s effort to cope with the “current COVID-19 situation,” said CCTV, without providing further details on the virus risk. It came after Dongxing detected one COVID-19 infection during routine testing.

Dongxing, which has a population of more than 200,000, started on Tuesday citywide testing of its residents and visitors.

China has increased COVID-19 vigilance along its borders and at ports to prevent the virus from being brought in from sources overseas, after several small border towns, which have fewer health resources than major cities, suffered outbreaks over the past three months.

The country has ordered travel agencies to halt arranging group tourism trips between border cities with overland ports of entry and areas outside the provinces where the cities are based until March 15, excluding those cities with ports linked to Hong Kong and Macau.