Authorities in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, will ramp up monitoring for any suspected Ebola cases amid growing concern of an outbreak given the southern Chinese region's significant number of African expatriates and visitors.

Guangzhou city government announced Tuesday a series of strengthened precautionary measures, and warned that those who violate these rules may face legal responsibility.  

In response to the city's initiative, the World Health Organization (WHO) hailed China's swift precautionary actions while assuring that the risk of a serious outbreak of Ebola in China is low.

"China took quick steps to strengthen its surveillance and screening systems at airports and other points of entry … These measures are in line with the Declaration by WHO of Ebola as an international public health emergency in August 2014," the WHO told the Global Times in an e-mail on Wednesday.

"The possibility of an imported case of Ebola is there … [but] current risk assessments suggest that the probability of progression to widespread and intense transmission of Ebola in China is low," it said. 

Tuesday's notice is the latest step in the city's continuing efforts to contain the risk of Ebola in Guangzhou, one of China's busiest ports and home to Asia's largest African community. Official statistics show that there are about 30,000 Africans residing in Guangdong Province, with 15,570 in the capital city.

All incoming visitors to Guangzhou, both Chinese and foreigners, who have been to Ebola-affected areas, including Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the past 21 days will have to go through temperature checks and register their contact information, the People's Daily reported.

Visitors who have developed Ebola-related symptoms such as fever should consult medical professionals immediately and contact the government-provided health service hotline.

The notice also states that all large-scale public events, hotels and tourism venues hosting people coming from Ebola-hit areas should provide temperature checks.  

At the recent Canton Fair in Guangzhou, China's largest trade exhibition, all participants from Ebola-affected areas reportedly had their temperature checked twice a day.

There has not been a reported case of Ebola in Guangdong Province, which recently gave the all-clear to 43 people under observation.

Provincial Governor Zhu Xiaodan, however, warned that Guangdong is the nation's top priority for Ebola precautions due to the large number of African expats.

Guangzhou may face more risk than other Chinese cities as the city has a high number of direct flights to Africa, with more than 1,000 people traveling from the continent arriving at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport daily. 

Public health experts have stressed the importance of border control in containing the spread of Ebola, particularly at the airport's customs check.

"There are two major gatekeepers in preventing the outbreak of Ebola - border checks and close tracking of visitors for 21 days after they arrive," Feng Zijian, a deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told the Global Times.

 "The temperature check at the border is not enough to detect an infection as some will develop symptoms after they enter. This is important [for the authorities] to keep in close contact with them so as to be kept updated on their condition," noted Feng.

The virus spreads through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. It has an incubation period of about three weeks, and only becomes contagious when a victim shows symptoms.

Zhou Zijun, a public health expert at Peking University also stressed that strengthening surveillance at the airport is most critical in tracking imported cases.

The Ebola outbreak began in March and has killed more than 4,500 people, with the majority of cases in the West African nations of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

In addition to Guangzhou, a recent study published in British medical journal The Lancet also put two other Chinese cities - Beijing and Wuhan - at high risk of being listed among the top 25 final destinations of airline passengers leaving from the three worst-affected countries.

Beijing suggests people returning from Ebola-stricken countries should quarantine themselves at home for 21 days, and undergo twice daily temperature checks if they have had contact with patients, the Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.

Australia announced Monday that it was banning travel for people from Ebola-hit countries, the first nation to institute such a blanket travel ban.