The photo taken on September 13, 2021 shows the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University Photo: CFP

Residents of Xiamen, a popular travel destination in East China's Fujian Province, are ordered to stay in the city unless necessary amid a COVID-19 outbreak in the province, according to a notice issued by the city government on Monday evening as China's national holiday of Mid-Autumn Festival approaches. 

Festive gatherings are banned and indoor entertainment venues are closed, according to the notice. 

All residents in the locked-down community affected by the epidemic are asked to stay at home. 

Those who need to leave Xiamen for special circumstances must show a green health code and hold a negative certificate of nucleic acid test within 48 hours, starting from Monday midnight. 

Xiamen, one of China's most popular scenic tourist cities along the southeast coast of China, reported 12 confirmed COVID-19 infections, including eight low and four mild cases, as of Monday afternoon. 

The first patient reported in Xiamen on Sunday was a close contact of a confirmed case from Putian, another city in Fujian Province where the country's latest outbreak started, which has reported a total of 79 positive cases as of Monday evening. 

Ten new cases related to that first case were detected in Xiamen on Monday. 

Putian, China's sneaker manufacturing hub, reported a local COVID-19 outbreak on Friday night after finding six positive cases. They were three primary school students and three of their parents.