BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping put on a face mask and tested his temperature on Monday as he visited health workers and patients infected by the dangerous coronavirus that has killed over 1000 people so far in China.
Considering the crisis “still very critical” at the virus epicenter, Xi sought “more decisive action” to curb the spread of the disease, Chinese state media said. The Chinese president, who has called the virus an “evil,” made an early visit to a hospital serving infected patients to address frontline medical health workers.
READ MORE: Coronavirus death row reaches 1008 in China
After the virus outbreak degenerated across the country from the epicenter of Hubei province to harm more than 40,000 people, Xi has largely kept out of the public visits in China.
Earlier in January: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Wuhan, the epicenter of a new coronavirus epidemic that killed had 80 people at that time and affected more than 2,700 people, as Beijing tried to communicate how strongly it intends to react to the crisis.
In the meantime, Wuhan said it would terminate visa and passport services for Chinese citizens until January 30 to reinforce virus control, the city’s exit-entry office said in a press release.
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