China has shut downs gyms and swimming pools in Beijing amid fears the country is vulnerable to a second wave of coronavirus.

It comes just days after the communist regime quarantined a city of 10million people in its north west region near Russia and on Saturday China's northwestern province of Shaanxi reported seven new imported cases coronavirus, all in citizens returning home from Russia.

A second outbreak would be a setback for President Xi Jinping who is trying to restart the nation's economy and present an image of power to the rest of the world.

Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China, where the virus first emerged in late December, is now 82,816. The death toll remained the same at 4,632, with no new deaths reported on April 24.

But there is widespread disbelief at those figures across the globe from Western leaders who accuse Beijing of letting coronavirus spread across the globe while its leaders saved face.

Donald Trump has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of colluding with Beijing to downplay its coronavirus outbreak, amid doubts over China's claim to have only 4,636 dead from the virus.

Beijing claims that the total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in China is 4,632 people . But there is widespread disbelief of those figures across the globe by Western leaders who accuse Beijing of letting coronavirus spread across the globe while its leaders saved face. Medical personnel take swab samples of a man from a man in in Suifenhe, in China's northeastern Heilongjiang province

How China 'covered up' coronavirus outbreak Lab Accident? US intelligence sources have claimed to media that corona virus escaped from a lab in Wuhan. They say an intern at the lab was infected in an accident, which she then covered up before infecting her boyfriend. Chinese officials were quick to blame bats sold at the wet market in Wuhan as the source of the outbreak. Delay in admitting human-human transmission Chinese officials for waiting six days to warn the public after becoming aware that a viral outbreak was causing a rash of deadly pneumonia cases in Wuhan in January. Covering up death toll China still only claims to 4,636 dead from virus. The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China. Silencing whistleblowers Eight Wuhan medical workers who sounded the alarm on the virus at the end of December were accused of spreading fake news and reprimanded by police. Advertisement

World Health Organization 'colluded with China' in response to coronavirus The World Health Organization has been criticized for putting the world at risk by credulously accepting China's information about the coronavirus pandemic . INITIAL RESPONSE TO OUTBREAK As concern about the crisis developing in Wuhan grew in December, the WHO parroted the Chinese government's line stating there was 'no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission'. The United Nations agency then took another week to correct that statement. EFFUSIVE PRAISE FOR CHINESE OFFICIALS The World Health Organisation and its leader Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus heaped praise on the Chinese repsonse to the virus even as it spread around the world. After a meeting in Beijing in January, Dr Tedros said: 'Its actions actually helped prevent the spread of coronavirus to other countries.' He said he was 'very impressed and encouraged by the president's detailed knowledge of the outbreak.' REFUSAL TO DECLARE A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY In late January, when the virus had already spread to several countries, a WHO emergency committee debated whether to declare COVID-19 a 'public health emergency of international concern'. However Dr Tedros declined amid Beijing's objections and instead traveled to China, before finally making the declaration a week later on January 30. Advertisement

The people of Wuhan believe the death toll in their city that was the epicentre of the outbreak is 42,000 - not the 3,182 claimed by China.

Trump is backed by large numbers of Republican politicians amid claims from the US intelligence community that the virus escaped from a lab near Wuhan in an accident involving an intern.

And in the UK, Downing Street has removed China from the list of other countries it uses to compare the spread of the coronavirus - in a snub to Beijing amid widespread anger at the nation's apparent cover-up of the seriousness of its coronavirus outbreak.

People returning to China from overseas are once again being ordered to quarantine, while health clubs and swimming pools are shutting amid fears of a new spike in the disease.

China has instituted stringent checks at its ports and border points, banning the entry of foreign nationals on March 28, and even diverting international flights from its capital city Beijing.

Still it has faced a continuous trickle of cases brought in by Chinese citizens wanting to return home in spite of risks of getting infected. In recent days, many of these have come back from Russia.

The new cases in Shaanxi were all Chinese nationals who had returned on April 20 on a flight from Moscow that was diverted away from Beijing. As of Saturday, the flight had a confirmed total of 30 cases, and 8 asymptomatic infections, according to the provincial health commission.

No further details were given about the imported cases in Manzhouli in Inner Mongolia. The northern province announced Friday that it would start requiring all international arrivals to undergo a 28-day quarantine, as well as two tests for COVID-19 as well as an antibody test.

Zhao Hui, 30, the owner of Upower Fitness in Beijing, told The Sunday Telegraph: 'On April 16, after we passed the inspection, we were able to start a trial operation. Then on April 18, they suddenly asked us to close again.

'I felt very frustrated. We just saw hope, but then it was gone, and we could not operate again.'

It comes as more than 70 people have been infected and over 4,000 are being tested in the city of Harbin after the virus was believed to be 'imported' by a student who had returned from New York, according to media reports.

Officials have banned gatherings and ordered communities to closely monitor non-local visitors and vehicles in the city of around 10 million.

Checkpoints have been installed at the airport and train stations, to screen those coming from elsewhere.

Earlier this week, China announced that there were only two critically ill patients left in Wuhan, the former centre of the pandemic.

Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang in north-eastern China, has been grappling with what is now the country's biggest coronavirus outbreak.

The government yesterday released a directive to instruct further restrictions on its residents, visitors and inbound traffic.

Before entering any public facilities and residential complexes, people must use a government-approved health app to prove they don't have the virus, have their temperature taken and wear a face mask, the notice says.

Harbin, a city of around 10 million people in north-eastern China's Heilongjiang province, has adopted draconian quarantine measures against the coronavirus. The picture shows a man keeping watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe, in Heilongjiang, on April 21

Harbin, the provincial capital and the biggest city of Heilongjiang, which borders Russia

Residents must follow social-distancing measures. Weddings, funerals, public performances and conferences are banned.

All confirmed, suspected, asymptomatic cases and their close contacts will be put into strict quarantine. All their neighbours in the same building must be isolated at home for two weeks with around-the-clock surveillance.

Asymptomatic cases are those who carry the virus but show no symptoms. They can still spread the virus to others.

Anyone in home-quarantine must pass two nucleic acid tests, which detect the coronavirus, and one anti-body test, which shows if the person has had the virus in the past.

New coronavirus cases have forced Chinese gyms, pictured, to close - just weeks after reopening

Officials say the virus was likely 'imported' into the city by a student who had returned from New York. Pictured, passengers wearing masks push luggage carts at Harbin airport on April 11

The city's government said this month it was ordering 28 days of quarantine for all arrivals from abroad, with two nucleic acid tests and an antibody test for each. Pictured, workers in protective suits are seen at a registration point for passengers at an airport in Harbin on April 11

Harbin, Heilongjiang's biggest city, had already ordered isolation for those arriving from outside China or key epidemic areas.

The city's government said this month it was ordering 28 days of quarantine for all arrivals from abroad, with two nucleic acid tests and an antibody test for each.

Heilongjiang has been at the forefront of China's latest efforts to identify infected citizens arriving from Russia, with which it shares a border, to curb the spread of the virus.

'I'm not taking my daughter or parents outside anymore. If we need any food or vegetables, we just let my husband buy it on his way back,' said a 34-year-old Harbin resident surnamed Sun.

'And whenever anyone has to go outside, he or she will leave their shoes outside the door to avoid bringing back any virus.'

Wuhan has only TWO critically ill coronavirus patients, China says China has announced today that there are only two critically ill coronavirus patients left in Wuhan, the former epicentre of the pandemic. A health official said that the number of active confirmed patients in China has dropped below 1,000 for the first time and the total of critically ill cases in Wuhan has fallen to two. More than half of the patients who contracted the bug from abroad have recovered, the authorities stated in a press conference on Thursday. China has announced today that there are only two critically-ill coronavirus patients left in the former epicentre Wuhan of Hubei Province. The photo taken on February 13 shows a doctor checking a patient's conditions at a hospital in Wuhan Over 82,000 people in mainland China have been infected with the deadly disease and at least 4,632 patients have died, according to China's official figures. China has recorded 1,616 'imported cases' from abroad, of which 823 have recovered. A total of 77,207 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals in the country. Mi Feng, a spokesperson from the Chinese Centre of Disease Prevention and Control, said in a press conference today that Wuhan now only has two coronavirus patients in critical condition. 'But some areas with infection clusters have seen an increase in confirmed cases,' Mi continued. '[We need to] cut the source of the spread quickly, fill in the loopholes in epidemic control and firmly prevent the second wave of outbreak.' A staff member is pictured spraying disinfectant on medical equipment on April 14 after all coronavirus patients have left Leishenshan Hospital in Wuhan Mi's announcement comes as the northern city Harbin has reported more than 70 infections in the past two weeks the virus was allegedly imported into the area amid fears of a new outbreak. The former ground zero Hubei Province has the brunt of the coronavirus cases in China, with a total of 68,128 infections and 4,512 deaths. There are 69 active confirmed cases in Hubei as of today and 63,547 patients have recovered from the deadly disease. Advertisement

Harbin, which has air links with Russia, reported three new confirmed cases today, taking its local infections to 55, excluding recoveries discharged from hospital.

Officials have so far registered 21 asymptomatic cases, including two who were diagnosed yesterday, according to the latest government figures.

So far, Heilongjiang has reported 540 local confirmed cases, including 470 discharged from hospital. Besides Harbin, the city of Mudanjiang has two current confirmed cases.

'Prevention measures have been stricter recently, and people from Mudanjiang or Harbin will not be allowed to come into our town,' said a civil servant surnamed Zhang, who lives in Mishan town on the eastern edge of Heilongjiang.

Hospitals in Harbin were arranging 4,106 people to be tested in response to the cluster infections, Beijing Daily reported.

The Second Hospital of Harbin halted its operation on Monday after all of the six cases the city registered on Sunday were said to be related to the hospital.

One persisting cluster in Harbin centred on an 87-year-old man surnamed Chen who had stayed at two hospitals since April 2, four days after dinner at home with his son's friends, two of whom later tested positive.

Harbin, near Russia, reported three new confirmed cases today, taking its local infections to 55. Pictured, police officers in protective suits are seen at the airport of Harbin on April 11

Heilongjiang has been at the forefront of China's latest efforts to identify infected citizens arriving from Russia. A keeping watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe

By Tuesday, Chen had infected 78 people, with 55 confirmed, though 23 who tested positive have yet to show virus symptoms.

Those infected were mainly family members, hospital patients and their families, and doctors and nurses in direct or indirect contact, provincial health officials said.

Of seven new confirmed cases in Heilongjiang on Tuesday, four were patients who had stayed in the same ward as Chen, while three were healthcare workers at one hospital.

However, Harbin's health officials have named a 22-year-old student, who studies in New York, as the likely source of the local crisis.

According to the Harbin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Han is a Master's student at New York University. Her parents and brother live in Harbin.

Staff members keep watch at a checkpoint in the border city of Suifenhe on April 21

She arrived in her hometown on March 19 after flying out of New York the day before and having stopovers in Hong Kong and Beijing.

Han tested negative during isolation, but local health officials said her two recent tests in April showed she had coronavirus antibodies, which indicated a previous infection.

Officials suggested that Han spread the bug to one of her neighbours, whom she never met during her quarantine, by contaminating the environment of her building.

Her neighbour, Cao, then pass the virus on to various others, who in turn transmitted it to Chen.

The virus that infected the cluster has travelled beyond the province, with health officials in neighbouring Liaoning reporting on April 16 a confirmed case whose father had stayed at the same hospital as Chen.

On Monday, the northern region of Inner Mongolia reported a confirmed case in an individual who had stayed at one of the Harbin hospitals at the same time as Chen and the Liaoning patient.

China reported 10 new confirmed cases today, six of them imported, involving travellers from overseas, down from 23 yesterday.

China's tally of confirmed cases stands at 82,798, with 4,632 deaths.