SHIJIAZHUANG, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- North China's Hebei Province has suspended activities at city parks and squares amid efforts to tame the latest outbreak of COVID-19.

Authorities will beef up routine patrols at parks and squares, advising visitors to maintain social distancing, while persuading those conducting group activities to leave, to prevent gatherings and potential cross-infections, the Hebei provincial housing and urban-rural development commission said on Monday.

Local authorities have ordered the closure of parks and squares in or within 500 meters of the high-risk areas. As for those in the medium- and low-risk areas, the number of visitors should not exceed 75 percent of maximum capacity.

Hebei reported 82 locally-transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases and 49 asymptomatic cases on Sunday, the provincial health commission said Monday.

Of the confirmed cases, 77 were reported in the provincial capital Shijiazhuang, and the other five in the city of Xingtai. Of these, 27 were previously asymptomatic carriers.

All of the new asymptomatic cases were reported in Shijiazhuang.

By the end of Sunday, there were 265 locally-transmitted confirmed cases and two imported ones in hospitals in Hebei.

A total of 203 locally-transmitted asymptomatic cases and five imported asymptomatic cases are under medical observation, said the commission.