An order banning all online preaching has been issued in China's Shandong province.

A notice was sent about the matter to the official churches in the Chinese province, reports VOM Canada.

The order stated all preaching over livestream is to be stopped immediately.

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which originated in China's Wuhan province, online church services have significantly increased. Heightened risk of spreading the virus through human contact and nearness has led to most churches creating online spaces for worship.

Churches using online services who were not registered have also been shuttered by authorities.

The order also asked churches to help reveal any non-registered churches in their communities to authorities. Official churches were told they can help "positively guide" Christians at non-registered churches, provided there would be no in-person meetings and no online preaching.

There have been no specifics revealed to determine the exact parameters of these orders.