BEIJING — China will continue to crack down on any forms of illegal wildlife trade amid the coronavirus outbreak, an official with the State Administration for Market Regulation said on Feb 8.

China has suspended all trading of wild animals nationwide to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, said Yang Hongcan at a daily press conference in response to reports that the novel coronavirus may have originated in wild animals.

From Jan 21 to Feb 6, the Chinese market regulators paid a total of nearly 1.5 million inspection visits to markets across the country, and over 3,700 markets and operators have been closed for rectification, Yang stressed.

More than 16,000 breeding sites have been cordoned off, controlled and isolated, Yang added.