According to the local public health authorities, in the 24 hours of Monday alone, Heilongjiang province saw 79 new confirmed COVID-19 infections, all of which were "imported" ones. That was the highest single-day number in the province to date.

During the same time span, the National Health Commission registered 89 newly confirmed cases on the country’s mainland, of which 86 were imported. One day earlier, 108 new cases were confirmed on the mainland. Of the 98 imported cases of the day, 49 were reported by Heilongjiang and 35 by the neighboring Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

The front line of the country’s defense against a surge in imported cases has shifted to the northeast.

Since all the new infections detected in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia have come into the country through the land border with Russia, additional pressure may be on its way for land ports on the China-Russia border.

The new imported infections detected in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia have entered the country through two small border cities, Suifenhe in the former and Manzhouli in the latter. Tiny border towns, such as these, also happen to be the weakest links in our medical system.

In Suifenhe, a county-level city with fewer than 70,000 regular residents, more than 300 imported infections have been confirmed, and over 1,400 remain in quarantine. In order to facilitate the strict screening and quarantine measures that have proven instrumental in effective pandemic control, there is a pressing need to properly equip the local medical facilities and provide local medics with emergency training. Which is why at a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Monday, China’s novel coronavirus task force decided to deploy more health resources on the country’s borders.

To mitigate the pressure on the city’s inadequate resources, the central authorities have already dispatched both support personnel and materials besides temporarily closing the passenger entry channels. A makeshift hospital has been erected, and more special wards are being prepared for a possible hike in imported infections. Similar endeavors are underway in Manzhouli, a 300,000-people trade port.

But given the continuous inflow of Chinese nationals seeking refuge back home amid pessimism over the pandemic in Russia, these gateways cannot remain closed to people indefinitely. And as soon as restrictions on border crossings ease, the pressure may prove backbreaking for these cities.

So while it is good that small land border towns such as Suifenhe and Manzhouli have become the focus of the country’s pandemic-containment system, with redoubled efforts being made for their defense, there needs to be stronger coordination and cooperation with neighboring countries so they can get a grip on the spread of the virus.