A large city in China has been put into lockdown after new clusters of coronavirus cases emerged in the area.

The city of Harbin in China’s northeast has taken on draconian new measures after a cluster of 70 coronavirus cases was detected in the city. In the province of Heilongjiang, which shares a border with Russia, up to 537 confirmed domestic cases and another 384 imported cases were reported this week.

Local Chinese media is attributing the outbreak to a student who travelled into the city from the United States and who is said to have “imported” the virus back to China from New York City.

In the city of Harbin more than 4000 people are now being tested for the virus according to multiple reports.

RELATED: Follow the latest coronavirus update

The region has seen an influx of imported cases, mostly among Chinese citizens returning home, but domestic infections have also been mounting — prompting the sacking or punishment of several officials and hospital workers.

In Harbin two new coronavirus clusters have been linked to local hospitals, however media reports are linking the outbreak back to a student who travelled to China from New York City in March.

Harbin Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDCP) named a New York University master’s student as the likely source of the outbreak. They said the woman, identified by her surname “Han” is a student at New York University whose parents and brother live in Harbin. The reports claim the woman had been self-isolating after returning to Harbin, but had contaminated her building and infected one of her neighbours — despite not meeting them.

China has largely curbed the spread of the deadly virus, but there are growing fears of a coming second wave of cases in the city and the surrounding Heilongjiang province. The province is bordered by Russia and Inner Mongolia.

The city of Harbin, with a population of more than 10.6 million people, has implemented harsh measures to control the spread of the virus, including the banning of gatherings. All people and vehicles from outside the city are banned from entering residential zones, officials said on Wednesday.

They’ve also encouraged local communities to monitor non-locals in their community. Heilongjiang officials are offering cash rewards to people who tell authorities if they see people illegally crossing the border into the province.

RELATED: China rejects Australia’s calls for independent review of coronavirus response

Students from Heilongjiang also have been told not to return to schools or universities in other parts of China until further notice.

Temperature checks and the wearing of face masks are mandatory for anyone entering residential compounds in the city and all residents must also have a “green” health code on a widely used phone app, officials said.

Officials said last week 35 people who visited or worked at two city hospitals had been infected by an 87-year-old patient who was being treated for a stroke and later tested positive for COVID-19.

— with AFP