Authorities are shipping thousands of prefabricated rooms to Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei province, as the city moves to battle a resurgence of COVID-19 outbreak.

The move came as the city began recording locally-transmitted cases on Jan 2 and a virus-induced death on Wednesday. The Chinese mainland had not reported any COVID-19-related death for more than 240 days.

A total of 3,000 sets of such rooms are arriving in successive batches at an open space in Guying village in Zhengding county, which borders the Gaocheng district, an area of higher infection risk where the city's first confirmed case was detected.

Cranes, excavators and other heavy machines are roaring as they work to level 33 hectares of land in preparation for a speedy construction, and more than 100 workers are at the scene, said a report by Hebei Daily on Thursday.

Each room will cover an area of 18 square meters, complete with electricity and water facilities, the report said.