People in Ruili, Yunnan province have been ordered not to enter or exit the city, as traffic controls are being conducted to contain the spread of the coronavirus, according to officials at a news conference on Wednesday. The ban took effect at 10 pm on Tuesday.

People who must leave the city are required to present a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours. People entering the city will be asked to turn back.
The traffic controls will be lifted after everyone in the city completes a test. Testing is expected to be completed before midnight.

The city reported six locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and three asymptomatic infections on Tuesday, according to provincial health authorities.

By 8 am, a total of 317 people were determined to have had close contact with the confirmed cases, and all of them are now under quarantine for observation.

All residents in the city are required to stay at home for one week. Business units, except supermarkets, pharmacies and fairs for farm produce, must close for one week.

While staying at home, families can arrange for one member to go out to buy necessities. A certificate given by the person who is in charge of the community is required.

The city has tightened controls along the border. A total of 506 control stations have been set along the border with 3,902 people on duty.

One of the confirmed cases and all three asymptomatic cases are Myanmar nationals; the others are Chinese.

On Monday, one person from Myanmar came back positive during routine testing of key populations in Ruili. Through those tests and the first person’s close contacts, eight others were found to be positive.

On Tuesday, six were diagnosed as confirmed cases and three were asymptomatic carriers.