File photo: Xinhua

North China's Hebei Province, which is adjacent to Beijing, announced entering "wartime" mode on Tuesday night after the province revealed 19 confirmed coronavirus cases and 40 asymptomatic ones since Saturday. It has started nucleic acid testing for all personnel and inspection of the cold-chain food industry. 

Hebei authorities vow to control COVID-19 outbreak as soon as possible, prevent the export of cases and become moat of capital Beijing at a press conference on Tuesday.

The local health department and Hebei Provincial Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  have started epidemiological investigations for all nucleic acid-positive people and their close contacts. It requires making clear movement of all positive cases and screening out their close contacts in a centralized isolation, according to the local authority on Tuesday.

The provincial government is formulating a diagnosis and treatment plan, combining Chinese and Western medicines to ensure the patients recover and leave the hospital as soon as possible.

At the same time, the province will conduct supervision on epidemic prevention and control measures through various means, including secret visits, with the aim to strengthen its implementation, especially during the Spring Festival period.

Global Times