WUHAN — Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in China, on April 3 asked its residents to stay at home and avoid nonessential outings as the city guards against a rebound in the outbreak.

The government of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, said in a notice that the city's residential communities will continue closed-off management, and residents passing through communities' entries must have their temperatures checked and wear a mask.

The notice warned against slackening vigilance amid the increased flow of people and influx of non-locals.

Wuhan, which has been virtually sealed off since Jan 23 to contain the epidemic, is expected to lift outbound travel restrictions on April 8. The city's public transportation has partly resumed service, and there are visibly more pedestrians and vehicles on the roads.

Preventing a rebound in the outbreak, however, remained "an arduous task," the notice said, citing the emergence of asymptomatic patients, patients who test positive again after being discharged from hospitals and new cases in people arriving from abroad.

It demands enhanced efforts to track down and timely quarantine and treat COVID-19 cases and their close contacts.

Hubei province reported only one new confirmed case of COVID-19 in the past week, but on April 2, 51 new asymptomatic patients were registered there, up from 37 on April 1.