Ruili port in Southwest China’s Yunnan Province links the country with Myanmar. (Photo: IC)

The Chinese city of Ruili, which borders Myanmar in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, reported two imported COVID-19 cases on Sunday after the city put a community under lockdown.

The two Myanmar nationals from Mandalay, Myanmar, were confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 on Sunday. Both had entered Ruili from the neighboring country, health authorities said.

One of them was a 32-year-old woman who went from being an asymptomatic patient to a confirmed patient on Sunday. The other was a 16-year-old girl who is currently being treated at the People's Hospital in Ruili.

Close contacts of the two cases have been quarantined and are under medical observation.

After the suspected patient was detected, the neighborhood - Aoxing Shiji in Ruili - was put under lockdown to prevent a possible spread of the disease, the Ruili anti-epidemic authority announced on Saturday.

Residents are required to stay in their homes during the lockdown period. The anti-epidemic group will provide residents with support.

Police did not reveal how the two patients entered Ruili from Myanmar. There was speculation that illegal border crossings may be the reason for the infections, as Ruili borders the Myanmar city of Muse.

The Global Times learned that land ports linking Myanmar and China have been closed to passengers since the early days of the epidemic, and freight truck drivers are under epidemic-control measures.