The headquarters in the fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia in Zhaoqing city of South China's Guangdong province has issued a notice on Sunday to look for other passengers who once took a cruise ship in a pier in Nanshan port in this provincial capital on Jan 19.

The notice was issued after a resident from the city who once took the cruise ship was been confirmed to have the novel coronavirus when he returned home.

The cruise ship had 108 tourists onboard who came from Hubei province, including 28 from Wuhan city, the center of the epidemic, said the notice.

The notice urged those who once took the cruise ship to isolate themselves and report to local neighborhood committees and medical institutes and immediately seek medical help when they have fever and cough symptoms.

Song Tie, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Center of Disease Control and Prevention, urged locals, particularly those who have to frequently take the bus, underground trains and other forms of transportation to pay special attention to personal hygiene via wearing masks, frequently washing hands and disinfecting clothes and other items that may have been contaminated.

"The risk of being infected with the disease is relatively higher in a relatively closed environment," he said.