China Bans Trade, Consumption Of Wild Animals
China Bans Trade, Consumption Of Wild Animals

NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images Chinese officials have issued an immediate and comprehensive ban on all wildlife trade and consumption.

The ban comes as the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow: At least 2,700 people have died and more than 80,000 have gotten sick since December.

(See Business Insider's latest updates here.) The virus is thought to have originated in bats, which may have passed it to an intermediary species that then passed it to humans at a market in Wuhan.