Epidemic prevention authorities in Wuhan, Hubei province, have issued a No 10 Notice, requiring suspected cases and their close contacts be quarantined at designated facilities for further medical observation.

The move came after authorities asked suspected patients in the sealed-off city, the center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, to remain home to control the spread of the virus.

At a designated site in Dongxihu district in western Wuhan, two doctors, two nurses, a disease control official and more than a dozen volunteers and community affairs personnel have been on standby at a three-story facility, complete with 50 wards.

The patients were transported to the quarantine site in cars provided by the district government.