China is delivering two million Covid-19 vaccine shots to Myanmar this week to help fight a growing outbreak in the border area, officials said, as a spike in infections in the Southeast Asian country spills over into parts of southern China.

Myanmar has seen a surge in coronavirus infections since June and on Thursday reported 6,701 new cases and 319 deaths, both record highs.

Medics and funeral services say the real toll is far higher, and the outbreak has also been linked to scores of new cases in China's Yunnan province that borders Myanmar, Reuters reports.

“Currently, the numbers of newly infected patients are increasing at the Chinese-Myanmar border,” China's ambassador in Myanmar Chen Hai said, noting pressure on authorities to contain infections in Yunnan.