Officials in a district in the central Hubei city of Shiyan have introduced “wartime measures”, banning anyone not directly involved in the coronavirus crisis from leaving their homes. Buildings and residential areas in the district have been closed off, with security carrying out 24-hour monitoring. Those found to be breaking rules will be “detained without exception”.

A Government notice reads: "Residents without prior approval are forbidden from leaving their home, building or residential compound."

This order will be in place for the next 14 days, according to a report from China’s state-run Global Times newspaper.

Local neighbourhood committees will deliver basic necessities to residents in the impacted areas, at set times with set prices.

They will also help people buy medication which they urgently need, the report from the Global Times added.

Anyone coming down with a fever, one of the main symptoms of coronavirus, will be transported to a medical observation bay in the district.

Officials have ordered people not to leave their homes in a desperate attempt to stop the deadly disease from spreading.

The emergency move has come after 137 cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported in the area - the second highest number in the city.

As of Wednesday, a total of 562 cases were reported there.

Dawu County, also in the Hubei province, has also announce “wartime” lockdowns from the coronavirus outbreak, banning people from leaving their homes.

Hubei has been plunged into crisis after China’s Communist Party fired two high-ranking officials in the province.

Today, the province at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak reported a record rise in deaths and thousands more infections.

Health officials in China have said 242 people died on in Hubei province on Wednesday, the biggest daily rise since the flu-like virus emerged in the provincial capital Wuhan in December.

The death toll in China has surged to 1,367.

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Hubei had only previously allowed infections to be confirmed by RNA tests, which carry genetic information allowing identification of viruses, but these tests can take several days.

But the Hubei health commission said it has also started using computerised tomography (CT) scans, which give images of the lungs to identify cases and isolate them faster.

As a result, a further 14,840 new cases were reported in the province on Thursday - significantly up from the 2,015 cases nationwide a day earlier.

World Health Organization (WHO) spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told Reuters: "It is our current understanding that the new case definition widens the net, and includes not only lab-confirmed cases but also clinically diagnosed cases based on symptoms and exposure.”

The new Communist Party chief of Hubei province has vowed to contain coronavirus but warned the situation remains severe.

Shanghai mayor Ying Yong was brought in as party head in Hubei after his predecessor and the party chief of the province's capital, Wuhan, were sacked following outbreak.

The Hubei Daily cited him as saying: "At present, the virus situation is still extremely severe.

"We will definitely win the battle to defend Wuhan, the battle to defend Hubei, and the battle to prevent and control the disease."