(Patria) - China reported a record number of imported coronavirus cases on Friday after its citizens returned from Europe and the US, raising fears of a second wave of infections just as the country began to recover from the first impact.  

41 new cases in China were entirely imported from foreign countries, the state National Health Commission confirmed, bringing the total number of such cases to 269.

Most of the arrivals, mainly in Beijing and Shanghai, are students studying abroad who returned to the country because campuses in Europe and the US were closed due to the epidemic, as well as business people (foreign nationals) returning to China where companies are reopening their offices.

Because of this, quarantine measures in the country have been tightened - everyone arriving goes straight into a two-week quarantine at home or in a central quarantine facility, with costs borne by the traveler.

At the end of the week, the total number of infected people in China was 81,008, while the number of deaths was 3,255, seven more (in Wuhan) than the previous day, which is a significantly slower growth than when the crisis was at its peak.

Local transmission of the disease has been absent for the third day, so Chinese authorities have somewhat relaxed measures, and some citizens can be seen walking around their homes.