Containment measures followed quickly as Ma'anshan, Anhui province, reported 10 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections on Monday afternoon, a local government statement said.

The infections included one locally transmitted confirmed case. The others were asymptomatic carriers, the epidemic prevention office said.

The city received a notice from outside the province on Sunday that an individual whose virus test result was positive had been traced to Huangchi township in Dangtu county of Ma'anshan, the office said, adding that an emergency response began immediately.

According to the statement, local authorities traced 282 close contacts and 374 secondary contacts of the infected people and found the 10 locally transmitted infections. Testing had been conducted for 21,700 people in the township.

Several villages and residential communities were locked down, the statement said.

Earlier in the day, the municipal government had released a notice requiring people from quarantined areas to stay home and those from outside to stay away unless necessary.

Hefei, the provincial capital, and Fuyang, the northernmost city, advised residents, on Sunday and Monday, to avoid traveling to outside the cities.