This photo taken on Jan 7, 2021 shows a police patrol walking at an empty railway station as Shijiazhuang, Hebei's capital city cuts outside transport links and bans residents from leaving. (STR / CNS / AFP)

BEIJING / SHIJIAZHUANG - The northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang has taken a raft of measures to ensure heating, gas and water supply as residents observe home quarantine amid a new cluster outbreak of COVID-19.

All residents in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei province, have been told to stay at home for two weeks since Jan. 6. The city has registered more than 200 confirmed cases since the beginning of this year.

The city's heating supply center said supply to residents has been increased during the epidemic to ensure no noticeable drop in room temperatures in houses.

About 25,000 couriers are returning to work to supply daily necessities to stay-at-home residents in the northern city.

All residents in Shijiazhuang have been told to stay at home to minimize infection risks, while local authorities said efforts had been beefed up to ensure the supply of daily necessities.

The Chinese mainland on Sunday reported 103 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, of whom 85 were locally transmitted and the rest arrived from outside the mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday.

Of the locally transmitted cases, 82 were reported in north China's Hebei province, two in Liaoning province, and one in Beijing, the commission said in its daily report.

No new suspected cases or deaths related to the disease were reported, said the commission, adding that 18 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery on Sunday

No new suspected cases or deaths related to the disease were reported, said the commission, adding that 18 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals following recovery on Sunday.

READ MORE: 46 local virus cases in Hebei among 69 new on mainland

By the end of Sunday, a total of 4,430 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. Among them, 4,132 had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, and 298 remained hospitalized. No deaths had been reported among the imported cases.

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the mainland reached 87,536 by Sunday, including 673 patients still receiving treatment, 20 of whom were in severe condition.

A total of 82,229 patients had been discharged following recovery on the mainland, and 4,634 had died of the disease, according to the commission.

There were no suspected COVID-19 cases on the mainland on Sunday, and 26,652 close contacts remained under medical observation.

ALSO READ: 20 local virus infections in Hebei among 32 new on mainland

Sunday saw 76 asymptomatic cases newly reported, of whom 15 arrived from outside the mainland. On the same day, 31 asymptomatic cases were re-categorized as confirmed ones.

A total of 506 asymptomatic cases were under medical observation, of whom 260 arrived from outside the mainland.  

By the end of Sunday, 9,242 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 158 deaths, had been reported in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), 46 cases in the Macao SAR, and 828 cases, including seven deaths, in Taiwan.

A total of 8,423 COVID-19 patients in the Hong Kong SAR had been discharged from hospitals following recovery, 46 in the Macao SAR, and 720 in Taiwan.