The arrests of two suspects allegedly involved in illegal border crossings and of hindering the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases were approved on Monday by the procuratorate of Jingxi, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The two are accused of bringing two foreigners into the country illegally in October. On their way from Jingxi to Nanning, one of the foreigners tested positive for COVID-19, which seriously affected economic and social life and caused an emergency shutdown of all primary and middle schools in three towns in Jingxi. Nearly 50,000 people were quarantined at home, 124 were placed under medical observation and more than 10,000 people were ordered to be tested.

Guangxi shares a long border with Vietnam, with scattered villages and many convenient roads, making it difficult for authorities to prevent imported COVID-19 cases, officials said at a news conference held by the region's high court.

A series of recent cases involving illegal entry found positive test results that made the pandemic harder to control.

This year, the officials said, various levels of courts in Guangxi have handled 921 first-instance cases of crimes and violations of laws and regulations involving border management and epidemic prevention. More than 2,000 people have been investigated for criminal responsibility, and 707 "human smugglers" and those transporting stowaways have received severe punishments.

Police sources in Dongxing, a county-level city bordering Vietnam's Mong Cai, Quang Ninh province, said that 39 people suspected of illegally crossing the border have been intercepted in the city this month.

On Dec 20, one locally transmitted COVID-19 case was found in Dongxing, by routine nucleic acid tests.

Residents of Dongxing were ordererd to quarantine at home starting from 8 am on Dec 22. As of Wednesday, the city has reported 19 confirmed cases.

In addition to those, the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region now has 230 confirmed cases and 103 asymptomatic carriers imported from abroad.