Residents of Chinese border city near Myanmar test negative after coronavirus cases

Residents in a Chinese border city have all tested negative for coronavirus following two imported infections from neighbouring Myanmar, and the city-wide home quarantine would be lifted, the provincial government said on Monday.

Residents in a Chinese border city have all tested negative for coronavirus following two imported infections from neighbouring Myanmar, and the city-wide home quarantine would be lifted, the provincial government said on Monday. The transit point of Ruili in southwestern Yunnan province launched the tests for tens of thousands of residents last week.

"Apart from the two imported cases, no local cases nor local transmission of the virus were found," the Yunnan government said in a statement. Restrictions such as home quarantine for residents were due to be lifted on Monday at 10 p.m. but venues such as cinemas, bars and internet cafes will remain shut, the statement said.

Yunnan's rugged 4,000-km (2,485-mile) border with Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam makes it tough for authorities to step up surveillance and cut illegal immigration as thousands pour into China, seen as a safe haven in the global pandemic.