China fears mount over ‘outsiders’

A month of containment measures to halt the spread of the deadly coronavirus in China seems to be working, but the rise of overseas cases means the country is now facing a fresh challenge — keeping it out.

News of the discovery of infection in someone who had travelled from Iran has exploded on social media and raised fears that efforts to lock down millions of people in the mainland might have been in vain.

The virus emerged in central China in December but has now spread globally, with a flurry of new outbreaks in countries including South Korea, Japan, Iran and Italy.

China is now exploring the possibility of adopting “targeted prevention and control measures” for people arriving from abroad, the foreign ministry said, while those landing in the Chinese capital from countries hit by the epidemic will have to self-quarantine.

Hundreds of passengers from South Korea arriving in eastern China were placed in isolation after people on two flights were discovered to have fevers this week.

And concern mounted further after authorities said a case of “imported” coronavirus had been found in the northern Ningxia region in a patient who travelled from Iran.

The patient — whose nationality was not given — arrived from Tehran in the city of Zhongwei via Moscow, Shanghai and Lanzhou, in neighbouring Gansu province.

The report detailed minutiae of the patient’s journey, from seat numbers to the type of face mask worn, and urged anyone who may have had contact to come forward.

China has locked down tens of millions of people in the outbreak’s epicentre, Hubei province, and told millions more across the country to stay home.

Schools and tourist sites have been closed, with dozens of sporting, cultural and business events cancelled in containing the outbreak, which has killed more than 2,700 people and infected about 78,000.

The World Health Organisation has praised China’s efforts and the official number of new cases has been generally declining — even allowing for some confusion after officials changed counting methods and revised figures.

Sixteen provinces and regions have lowered their emergency response level to the virus, according to state news agency Xinhua, and started to relax some controls. —