YINCHUAN -- Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region has suspended in-person classes at 773 schools to control the spread of COVID-19, a regional education department official said on Tuesday.

All six county-level regions in Ningxia that have reported COVID-19 cases in the latest outbreak have suspended in-person classes for more than 467,000 students at all local kindergartens, primary schools and middle schools, said Tian Xilin, an official with the regional education department.

Local education authorities are offering online classes until in-person classes are resumed, Tian told a press briefing.

The education department has also placed 24 colleges and universities under closed management, Tian added.

Since Oct. 17, Ningxia has reported a total of 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases.