Border patrol officers rise to COVID challenge
Family time sacrificed as hard work keeps cases at bay
Bai Ze wolfed down his dinner at 6 pm before being rushed off to perform his duty－patrolling the China-Myanmar border at the Zhangfeng land port in Ruili, Yunnan province.
The 2-year-old police dog was clad in a black jacket, giving him a commanding presence.
Gao Leiyang, the animal's handler, said well-trained police dogs have acute senses of smell, hearing and vision and are highly flexible and irreplaceable for inspection work.
Border areas around the port are covered in lush vegetation and also have complex sewage systems, making it easy for criminals to hide. While patrolling at midnight in April, Bai Ze barked and police officers captured a foreigner attempting to enter China illegally through a sewer.
Yunnan is home to 25 border counties in eight prefectures or cities, and there is a high risk of COVID-19 cases being imported to China.
Several outbreaks of the virus have been reported in the province since the pandemic broke out. Many imported cases have been spread in border communities such as Ruili.
