Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, issued the country's first epidemic prevention insurance targeting the city's prime economic contributors--small and micro enterprises that are particularly vulnerable to challenges caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak--on Feb 19.

Applicants can receive a maximum of 100,000 yuan ($14,925.3) on the condition that they have been forced to shut down due to the statutory infectious disease.

All eligible insurers and enterprises are allowed to participate, according to the Ningbo municipal office of finance.

The premium has been set at 2,000 yuan, half of which will be covered by government subsidies, and roughly 5,000 small and micro enterprises will become the policy's first beneficiaries.

If an insured enterprise is required to shut down due to the statutory infectious disease, it will be granted 3,500 yuan per day, capping at a total of 100,000 yuan.

Insured enterprises will still obtain compensation even if they are affected by outbreaks in surrounding areas.

The move is aimed at bolstering confidence among local enterprises hoping to resume production amid the epidemic, said a leading official at the Ningbo municipal office of finance.

In addition to the insurance, Ningbo unveiled a string of measures to help local small and medium-sized enterprises weather difficulties caused by the outbreak.

The city has also taken the national lead in temporarily lowering social security premium rates, with its floating standard now equivalent to the amount paid in social insurance premiums by an enterprise over the course of two months.

All small and micro businesses will also be entitled to an interest-free loan of up to one million yuan over the next three months.