WUHAN, Jan. 23 -- Central China's megacity of Wuhan battling with a pneumonia outbreak has announced to suspend public transportation, and close the airport and railway stations to outgoing passengers, while asking citizens not to leave the city without specific reasons.

City buses, subways, ferries and long-distance coaches, as well as flights and trains for outgoing passengers will be suspended starting from 10 a.m. Thursday until further notice, said a notice issued in the wee hours of Thursday by Wuhan's headquarters for the control and treatment of the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.

The measures will be taken in a bid to "effectively cut off the virus spread, resolutely curb the outbreak and guarantee the people's health and safety," the notice said.

A total of 444 cases of new coronavirus-related pneumonia and 17 deaths had been reported in Hubei Province as of 8 p.m. Wednesday, with the majority in Wuhan, the provincial capital.