China imposes new restrictions in Wuhan amid coronavirus outbreak

Chinese authorities on Thursday resorted to increasing measures to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus, ordering a door-to-door inspection, rounding up the sick and sending them to isolated warehouses. According to media reports, the extreme steps by Chinese authorities came after the city of 11 million people reported a death toll staggeringly higher than the rest of the country. 

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The new restrictions came as people of Wuhan woke up to the news that a doctor named Li Wenliang, who had first warned of the deadly virus outbreak in December, had died from the disease infection. The doctor was punished by the Chinese authorities for allegedly 'spreading false rumours' after he shared the news of the outbreak with his colleagues on a chat group and warned them to stay safe. Wenliang was punished by the police after the screengrab of the message went viral on Chinese social media platforms. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

The recent measures were a follow up of a lockdown that authorities imposed on 12 cities across China, 11 of which, including Wuhan were situated in the Hubei province. China is battling hard to fight the virus as just recently the country built a hospital in a record time of just eight days to house the patients affected by the disease. Beijing is also building another hospital in the Wuhan with a capacity of an estimated 1,600 beds. 

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According to the latest media reports, the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has claimed more than 630 lives in China alone and the confirmed reported cases have reached up to 30,000 as of February 6. The disease is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Hubei's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, where animals were being traded illegally. As per US CDC, confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 27 other countries.

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