Local governments should strictly manage all people who have come from Wuhan, Hubei province in the past 15 days to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the National Health Commission said on Sunday.

Ma Xiaowei, minister of the commission, said grassroots authorities should knock on doors and make home visits to trace all people coming from Wuhan to see if they have symptoms of the virus.

Authorities in Wuhan and Hubei province should implement the strictest epidemic prevention and control measures, including quarantining people who have had contact with patients, suspected patients and people with symptoms and limiting all forms of gathering, he said at the news conference at the State Council Information Office.

Li Bin, vice minister of the commission, said communities and villages are the frontline to control the spread of the virus.

Grassroots officials should conduct daily screenings of people coming from other places, especially people from Wuhan, who should stay at home for observation for 14 days.

Officials should submit daily reports on their health conditions and people with symptoms should be sent to medical institutions for quarantine, he said.