Chinese authorities locked down a city bordering Myanmar on Wednesday, shutting most businesses and requiring residents to stay at home as a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 expanded.
Another 15 cases were found in Ruili in the last 24 hours, on top of six in the previous two days, health authorities in southwestern Yunnan province said. In addition, two people without COVID-19 symptoms have also tested positive for the virus.
The lockdown shut down all businesses and public institutions except hospitals, pharmacies and essential shops such as grocery stores, according to a notice posted online. It affects the urban part of Ruili, which like most Chinese cities includes surrounding rural areas in its jurisdiction.
Myanmar is battling a large outbreak with limited resources to contain it. The Southeast Asian nation reported 3,602 new cases in the last 24 hours, state media said Wednesday, its highest daily total since the pandemic began.
Ruili lies across a river from the city of Muse in Myanmar's Shan state. Chinese anti-virus measures have dealt a blow to the active cross-border trade between the two countries, China's state-owned Global Times newspaper reported earlier this week.
Authorities had already banned unnecessary travel in and out of Ruili on Monday, after the first cases were reported.
All the cases have been reported in a Ruili community on the border called Jiegao, which has been designated a high-risk area. They include both Chinese and Myanmar nationals. The latest cases were discovered during mass testing, and authorities said they would step up border controls.
Elsewhere in China, 52 people who had arrived on a flight from Afghanistan five days ago tested positive for the virus, the Hubei provincial health commission said. Thirty have been classified as confirmed cases, while the other 22 did not show any COVID-19 symptoms. China does not include asymptomatic cases in its official tally.
China has regularly imported cases from travellers, but usually in smaller numbers. The July 2 Xiamen Air flight flew from Kabul to Wuhan, the city hit hard by the virus after it was first detected there in late 2019. Virtually all people arriving in China must quarantine for two weeks in a designated hotel.
Ruili launched a campaign to vaccinate the entire city in April following an outbreak in March.
China has relied on a tough lockdown strategy and mass testing to tamp down outbreaks, even as it has stepped up the pace of vaccinations. Central health officials have said they want to vaccinate 80% of the population.
The smell of sage and sweetgrass floated in the air Monday over a mostly sombre ceremony to reflect on the legacy of residential schools and remember those who survived — and the thousands who didn't.
Israel's widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday as its military said troops had begun 'limited' raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area.
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Pete Rose, Major League Baseball's all-time hits leader who was banned from baseball for gambling on the game, has died at 83.
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Ottawa must do more to help Canadian citizens leave Lebanon, says the son of a Canadian couple killed last week when an Israeli bomb hit their car in the country's south.
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A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.
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Donald Trump repeatedly spread falsehoods Monday about the federal response to Hurricane Helene despite claiming not to be politicizing the disaster as he toured hard-hit areas in south Georgia.
Israel's widely expected ground invasion of Lebanon appeared to be getting underway early on Tuesday as its military said troops had begun 'limited' raids against Hezbollah targets in the border area.
Authorities on Monday night ended a shelter-in-place order for more than 90,000 people east of Atlanta following a weekend chemical plant fire that sent a massive plume of dark smoke into the Georgia sky and led to complaints about a strong chemical smell and haze.
World leaders headed home from the United Nations with the prospect of a broader Middle East war intensifying and global divisions front and centre.
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Oasis shocked fans by announcing a reunion tour last month, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. But those were only U.K. dates. On Monday, the band shared that they're planning on heading to North America in 2025, too.
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Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
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The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
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The Department of National Defence is warning boaters to avoid a small island southwest of Victoria this week as the military conducts routine, but potentially dangerous, demolition training.
The New Democrats are campaigning for another term in British Columbia's provincial election but without many of the familiar faces that have graced lawn signs of elections past.
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Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
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