SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The northern Chinese city of Tianjin has ordered schools and non-essential companies to remain closed until further notice to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has already infected thousands in the country, a local government-run newspaper said.

Tianjin Daily, said the date when work and school could resume would be announced at a later stage, citing a local government committee responsible for controlling the epidemic.

Tianjin, which has a population of around 15 million and borders capital Beijing, had 32 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of 10 p.m. local time on Jan. 31.

(Reporting by Winni Zhou and David Stanway; Editing by Sandra Maler)