By 10 am on Friday, Hebei province has confirmed 127 COVID-19 cases and detected 183 asymptomatic carriers since the outbreak occurred on Jan 2, said Xu Jianpei, vice governor of Hebei province, on Friday afternoon at the province's first provincial-level press conference for epidemic control.

The cases were all detected in Shijiazhuang and Xingtai cities, with most in Shijiazhuang, the province's capital.

To stop further infection, the two cities are undergoing citywide nucleic acid tests. By Thursday night, Shijiazhuang had tested over 4.8 million residents out of a population of about 11 million, and 289 samples showed positive results, Xu said.

Xingtai has tested over 1.8 million residents out of a population of 8 million, and found 15 positive results. Tests in the two cities will be finished by Saturday, he said.