Anxin county in Xiongan New Area, North China's Hebei province, imposed a lockdown on villages, residential communities and private houses to limit people's outside activities, in an effort to prevent the cross infection of COVID-19.

Beginning Saturday, residents in the county are forbidden to leave their homes, except for those who work for the public interest or are working anti-virus jobs, according to a notice released on Saturday by the anti-virus leading work group in Anxin county.

People who don't live in a community or a village are not allowed to enter these sites, as are vehicles coming from outside, the notice said.

The county was one of the few places in the country hit by the COVID-19 outbreak since mid-June.

It has reported 13 confirmed cases infected with the novel coronavirus, all related to the Beijing Xinfadi wholesale market or having close contacts with other confirmed cases. Hebei has reported a total of 21 confirmed COVID-19 cases since June 14, according to the province's health commission.

Each household can send one person to go out once in a day to buy daily supplies. The person must have a permit to do so and has to receive a temperature check and register their information at check points.

Public servants and officials in the county are encouraged to take the lead in abiding by the lockdown regulations and also implement the measures strictly.

The notice didn't disclose when the lockdown will be lifted.

Han Yifei contributed to the story.