China’s top legislature has on February 24 said it will immediately ban the trade and consumption of wild animals, in a bid to help the country win the battle against the Coronavirus.

This announcement, according to Chinese media, is coming after an initial suspicion that the trade and consumption of wild animals led to the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019.

Many academics, environmentalists and residents in China have joined international conservation groups in ‘calling for a permanent ban‘. Online debate within China has also heavily called for a permanent ban.

Scientists say the virus is caused by a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before, but suspect – though not proven – that the new coronavirus passed to humans from animals.

Some of the earliest infections were found in people who either worked or frequently shopped at seafood and wildlife market in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.

The disease has now killed almost 2,700 people in China and spread to 1 international conveyance “Princess Diamond cruise ship” and 39 countries around the world.