Bayannur City in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has issued a level III warning for plague control and prevention after one death was reported on Friday. Level III is the second lowest in a four-level system. 

The warning period in Bayannur will stay in place until the end of 2020, authorities said.

Local health officials said a patient died from multiple organ failure in the early hours of Friday and was later diagnosed with bubonic plague.

On Thursday, another city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Baotou, also issued a level III warning after reporting one plague fatality.

Officials have traced seven individuals who came into close contact with the person who died and put them under isolated medical observation. None have shown fever symptoms. All of them have tested negative for the plague.

Authorities have closed off the area where the deceased patient resided and started an epidemiological investigation. 

Bayannur's health experts urged the public to beef up self-protection as the city is at risk of people-to-people infections.

Cases of plague are not uncommon in China, although outbreaks have become increasingly rare. From 2009 to 2018, China reported 26 cases and 11 deaths.