Aerial photo taken on Oct 28, 2020 shows a view of the blooming Ottelia acuminata on the Chengjiang River in Daxing Town of Du'an Yao Autonomous County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Photo:Xinhua

Border areas in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have enhanced measures to avoid the spread of coronavirus, including encouraging residents to report information on illegal crossings, amid mounting epidemic control pressure in winter and sporadic outbreaks that were traced to imported sources. 

Du'an Yao Autonomous County has announced cash rewards ranging from 500 yuan ($77) to 10,000 yuan for people who report information on illegal crossings and other situations that may create the risks of the virus spreading, such as escaping centralized medical observation or covering up one's travel history to domestic middle- and high-risk areas. 

Rewards for reporting illegal crossings and smuggling of goods are up to 10,000 yuan, while the reward for reporting legal returnees who do not abide by epidemic control requirements is 5,000 yuan, according to an announcement on New Year's Day. 

China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday that Hepu county just sentenced two men to 42 months and 30 months in prison, respectively, for organizing illegal crossings via mountain roads. The people who entered from Vietnam are being handled in a separate case.

Illegal crossings create the risks of the virus spreading and observers warned people to abide by border control policies and avoid being deceived by people who promised of "high-paying jobs overseas," CCTV reported.  

Border regions are on the alert again after recent domestic outbreaks turned out to be connected to overseas returnees. 

Outbreaks in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning Province and Beijing were found to be started by returnees who finished the quarantine period but had a longer incubation period. 

The first group of infections in Dalian, Liaoning was among loaders who were infected after handling contaminated goods from a Russian ship. 

The outbreak in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province traced back to a person who was exposed to trash from a quarantine center.

Crackdowns on illegal crossings, as well as adding seven days of home quarantine to the 14 days of centralized medical observation for overseas returnees, are intended to close all loopholes where there is a chance of virus spread, observers said.