Jiangyin in Jiangsu province reported 46 COVID-19 cases on Thursday.

The county-level city of Wuxi had already reported two confirmed and 41 asymptomatic cases on Tuesday and Wednesday. It barred the operation of all vehicles on Friday, except ambulances, fire trucks and those that support the basic operation of the city and asked residents to not leave the city. It also locked down a township and a residential community.

People who need to visit hospitals will be under closed-loop management, according to the city's COVID-19 prevention and control department.

The neighboring Suzhou city, which is located between Wuxi and Shanghai, downgraded all its areas to low risk on Thursday. However, it still asked residents to take nucleic acid tests at least once every three days.

Anybody who visits Suzhou must present a negative test result taken within 48 hours of departure. All its parks, hospitals and clinics will gradually resume operation, it said.