Support The Moscow Times!

Majority of China's New Coronavirus Cases Imported From Russia

Health experts and officials have warned that Russia's number of cases could be much higher than the country has reported due to unreliable testing. Alexander Avilov / Moskva News Agency

More than half of China's coronavirus infections reported on Sunday originated from a Russian flight to Shanghai the day before, a potential sign of the severity of Russia's outbreak, Bloomberg reported, citing Shanghai’s Municipal Health Commission.

The news comes as China — the country where the virus originated — now seeks to stave off a renewed outbreak caused by the virus entering the country from outside its borders. Health experts and officials have warned that Russia's number of cases could be much higher than the country has reported due to unreliable testing.

According to Shanghai’s Municipal Health Commission, 51 of 52 imported cases on Saturday were of Chinese nationals who were diagnosed with Covid-19 after their flight landed. They made up more than half of 97 overall imported infections China reported Sunday morning. No other information was provided about the flight.

So far this month, China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province has reported more than 100 infections imported from Russia through its land borders.

Russia, which has suspended most international flights and closed its borders to foreign nationals to slow the spread of the coronavirus, has seen a spike in new cases over the past week with a 31% increase in new cases from Saturday to Sunday. The country now has 15,770 cases, nearly two-thirds of which are in Moscow.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more