Remote China border town locked down

A Chinese city on the Russian border is entering a "lockdown" due to an increase in coronavirus cases - even as the rest of China cautiously opens up.

In Suifenhe, 1,000 miles from Beijing, people have been ordered to stay indoors, with some exceptions.

The border is closed to people, although not goods, and a 600-bed isolation hospital is being built.

One business owner said she was "very scared" - but another local said he had confidence in the government.

On Wednesday, China reported 59 imported cases of Covid-19 across the whole country.

According to state media, 25 of them entered the country via Suifenhe - making the remote north-east crossing something of a hotspot.

The patients were all returning Chinese citizens who had flown from Moscow to Vladivostok, a Russian city around 100 miles south.

All the new patients were taken to hospital, with two in a serious condition.

 

Dhaka/Mukul