Yiwu, a county-level city in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, asked all its residents to stay home for three days — starting early Thursday morning — to curb the spread of COVID-19.

At a news conference on Thursday, Yiwu reported 24 new cases as of 9 am. That brings the total number of confirmed infections since Aug 2 to 500, said Luo Xiaojun, the deputy mayor.

All public places are suspended except for medical institutions and entities that provide people's basic daily living needs.

Zhang Yongmin, deputy director of the Yiwu health commission, said that a 24-hour special medical treatment group has been set up to manage patients and provide services around the clock.

The Fourth Hospital of Zhejiang University and Yiwu Central Hospital are responsible for treating people with red codes or in central quarantine.

For special cases, such as patients who require dialysis, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, as well as pregnant women and people who cannot be diagnosed as COVID-19 patients in a timely manner, will be transported by negative pressure ambulance to a designated hospital. People who are not infected will be transported to the hospital by car, as arranged by the government.