Hubei province, where the epidemic situation is the most severe, will continue to take the most stringent prevention and control measures, the National Health Commission said in a notice on Tuesday.

Residents in the province are classified into groups of high, medium and low risk based on their recent history of travel, residence and contact, as well as their current health status. Different control measures will be taken for different groups.

The capital city, Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, and other cities that have already implemented traffic control will continue to restrict people from leaving. In cities where traffic control is not implemented, residents are asked to isolate themselves for 14 days after arriving at their destination.

Fever clinics and designated hospitals will keep screening fever patients to make sure all patients are examined, admitted to hospitals and treated.

Residential communities with outbreaks will continue the lockdown. Schools are strictly forbidden to reopen in advance or organize large-scale collective activities. Public areas, including markets, shopping malls and hotels, need to restrict the flow of people and strictly conduct disinfection and ventilation while open for business.