Authorities in Wuhan, the city at the center of the COVID-19 outbreak, will subsidize impoverished out-of-towners with 300 yuan ($43) a day for a total amount not exceeding 3,000 yuan per person, according to a local newspaper.

The subsidy is reserved for non-residents of Wuhan who are financially strapped and stranded in the sealed-off city, said the Chutian Metropolis Daily, citing local authorities.

The developments came after the city's epidemic control office pledged local civil affairs offices would offer financial assistance to stranded people in a circular on Feb 27.

The circular said local district-level authorities are responsible for accommodating nonlocals who have no place to go and pay their medical bills if they fell ill. Employers and schools should make sure members from outside Wuhan have access to basic living necessities.

Applicants can submit personal data via the website of the city's civil affairs bureau, or call the hotline at 027-12345, it said.

The city government said they have allocated more than 3.3 million yuan as of February into relief work targeting out-of-towners, and the total number of beneficiaries has reached almost 1,573.