China tested 10.59 million citizens in Wuhan city for coronavirus

China's ruling Communist Party on Monday confirmed that authorities have carried out tests on 10.59 million people in Wuhan city of Hubei province to identify coronavirus patients. According to Chinese state media, 99 percent of the city's population has undergone the test while the remaining one percent would be completed by Tuesday. The city of 11 million people are living under the threat of deadly coronavirus since December last year. 

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Ma Guoqiang, Wuhan's party secretary while talking to the media said that 1,499 confirmed patients were hospitalised after February 8, who were not admitted for treatment before. The test of the Wuhan population is regarded as crucial as most of the people who died of the virus were from the city of Wuhan and from Hubei province.

Chinese authorities had recently built a hospital in a record time of just eight days to house patients infected by the disease. Another hospital with an estimated capacity of 1,600 beds is under construction. According to reports, the death toll from coronavirus has surpassed the number of deaths that took place in 2003 due to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). 

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Coronavirus outbreak

According to the latest reports, the coronavirus outbreak has claimed more than 1,000 lives and over 42,000 new cases have been confirmed in the country as of February 10. The country recorded its highest number of deaths in a single day since the outbreak as it reported 108 deaths on Monday. US Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said that the virus has already spread to 27 countries. United States President’s Coronavirus Task Force on Friday informed that the development of a vaccine is progressing well and it would hopefully be ready within three months. Media reports had earlier suggested that the virus originated from a seafood market in China's Hubei province, where animals were being traded illegally. 

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