Illegal immigration sparks fears of Covid outbreaks in Asia
Fears are rising in Southeast Asia that people smuggling across porous borders could open the door to sudden local outbreaks of the Covid-19 virus that spread unseen and spiral out of control.
Over 30 Chinese illegal Chinese migrants were deported from Laos last week, sparking fears about lax border controls as new cases of the virus start to appear in the tiny impoverished country, reported Radio Free Asia.
A district health worker told the news agency that none of the Chinese detainees showed signs of fever after they crossed from the southern Chinese province of Yunnan, but a resident of a Laos border village said that locals were afraid of being exposed to the virus due to unrestricted travel from China.
“We’re afraid that the Chinese will bring the virus to us,” he said.
Laos, which has a population of about 7 million and a 250-mile border with China, has so far remained relatively unscathed by the virus, with only 20 cases and no deaths.
But the problem of unregulated border crossings was recently highlighted in nearby Vietnam, where an outbreak of the virus in the coastal tourist resort of Da Nang stunned the country after 99 days of no recorded local transmissions and one of the best global records in tackling Covid-19.
The country still has only 459 cases, but 42 have been reported since July 25, with new infections now reported in six cities and provinces and authorities in the communist-ruled country warning that the whole country is at risk.
Illegal immigration from China is suspected to have been the source of the current wave of the virus although no proof of this has been established.
However, the government appears to be taking no chances. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the prime minister, ordered a crackdown on illegal border crossings and the police on Sunday arrested a 42-year old Chinese man accused of leading a people smuggling gang.
