a person sitting at a table with a cake: Economic data shows the virus is hitting Chinese factories harder than the 2008 financial crisis © AFP Economic data shows the virus is hitting Chinese factories harder than the 2008 financial crisis

Factory activity in China fell to a record low in February, as manufacturers closed their operations to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The country's official measure of manufacturing activity - the Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) - dropped to 35.7 from 50 in January.

It shows the virus is having a bigger impact than the financial crisis that shook the world last decade.

The data also suggests that factories are struggling to find enough workers.

PMI figures - calculated with data from monthly surveys of private sector companies - are a key indicator of a county's economic health, and can move financial markets.

China makes up a third of world manufacturing and is the world's largest exporter, so this PMI drop - well below analysts' expectations - will have a knock-on effect on other countries.

Restrictions in place in the so-called "factory of the world" have also affected companies such as Apple, Diageo, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen, which rely on China's production and consumer market.

The big question now is how quickly factories can return to normal.

Many are dependent on China's 300 million migrant workers, a third of whom are still not working because of quarantine rules.

According to Bloomberg Economics, Chinese factories were operating at 60% to 70% of capacity this week.

It is expected that China's economic growth will take a significant hit in the first half of this year because of the impact coronavirus has had on business and spending in the country.

Stock markets around the world fell dramatically this week after a surge in the number of companies warning about the impact of the outbreak on firms.

Pictures: Coronavirus (COVID 19) outbreak

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China has been battling an outbreak of a new SARS-like coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which originated in Wuhan. The virus has claimed over 1,000 lives in mainland China – far surpassing the death toll during the SARS outbreak in 2003 – and infected over 43,000 people around the world. The Chinese government has allocated $144 million to combat the virus. The country and several of its cities are under a travel lockdown as other nations try to contain the spread of the virus, with major airlines suspending their service from and to the Asian nation. Outside of China, the Philippines reported the first death on Feb. 2, 2020, and Hong Kong on Feb. 4. The other 25 countries and regions infected by the novel coronavirus are Australia, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Nepal, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, U.K., U.S. and Vietnam. On Jan. 30, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency.

(Pictured) A man in protective gear waits to evacuate residents from a public housing building in Hong Kong on Feb. 11.

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Members of the media stand near the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where dozens of passengers were tested positive for coronavirus, at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 11.

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People wear masks as a precautionary measure at the Seoul railway station in South Korea on Feb. 10.

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A resident wearing a protective face mask looks on at Patan Durbar Square in Patan, Nepal, on Feb. 10.

 
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A Malaysian Royal Guard wears a protective mask as he stands guard outside National Palace in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 10.

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A woman walks past a sand sculpture depicting people wearing protective masks with a message reading 'Fight against coronavirus, we stand with China' made by Indian artist Sudarsan Pattnaik at Puri beach in Odisha, India, on Feb. 10.

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Tourists wearing face masks visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 10.

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People wear protective masks as they wait to cross the street in Hong Kong on Feb. 10.

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A worker wearing a protective suit carries a fogging machine as others prepare to disinfect a business establishment in Shanghai, China, on Feb. 9.

 
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A plane carrying 150 Britons, who were trapped in Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak, lands at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, near London, England, on Feb. 9.
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Local health government and medical chief members speak to media at the Son Espases hospital, where a case of coronavirus has been detected, in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, on Feb. 9.
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A group of 20 Germans evacuated from Wuhan leave Tegel Airport in a convoy, after their arrival in an air force plane in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 9.
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Brazilian citizens from Wuhan arrive at the Air Force base of Anapolis, in Brazil on Feb. 9.
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A passenger wearing a mask walks outside the Shanghai railway station in China on Feb. 8.

 
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Workers produce protective clothing at a factory in Wuxi, China, on Feb. 8. The factory, which previously produced suits and sportswear, switched to production of protective clothing as demand increased due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

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Family members of passengers from the cruise ship World Dream docked at Kai Tak cruise terminal, wave on shore in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. The cruise ship with approximately 1,800 passengers remained quarantined in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor on Feb. 8. Several passengers from mainland China on a previous World Dream cruise were found to have the new coronavirus on returning home.

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A Hindu devotee wears a mask as she carries a milk pot on her head at a shrine in Batu Caves during the Thaipusam festival in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 8.

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French Health and Solidarity Minister Agnès Buzyn leaves after attending a meeting about the situation of the n-CoV 2019 coronavirus, in Paris, France, on Feb. 8. The minister said that five British nationals including a child have tested positive for the new coronavirus in France.

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Tourists wearing face masks line up near a departure gate at the airport in Bali, Indonesia, on Feb. 8. Thousands of Chinese tourists are reportedly stranded in Bali following suspension of all flights to and from China.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam speaks to the media during a press conference on the coronavirus situation in Hong Kong on Feb. 8. Lam said that the government has bought 48 million masks and received 17 million more from China to counter the shortage of masks in Hong Kong.

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South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has his temperature checked during a visit to a clinic in Gyeonggi, South Korea, on Feb. 8.

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People wearing masks walk in a subway station in Hong Kong on Feb. 7.

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People look on from the quarantined cruise liner Diamond Princess, in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7. About 64 passengers from the ship have tested positive for the virus. Another ship, the World Dream, has been docked and quarantined at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong. It has 3,600 passengers and crew on board.

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Flight attendants wearing protective clothing and masks serve snacks to Canadians, who had been evacuated from China due to the outbreak of novel Coronavirus on an American charter plane, on another aircraft taking them to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton from the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, Canada, on Feb. 7.

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A disinfection worker in protective gear sterilizes a restaurant in Tong-in Market in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 7.
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People stock up on food supplies at a supermarket in Singapore on Feb. 7, after the country raised coronavirus outbreak alert to orange.
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Members of U.S. President Donald Trump's Coronavirus task force – (L-R) Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun – attend a news conference about the virus at the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C, U.S., on Feb. 7.
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Passengers wearing masks arrive at the Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Feb. 7.
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People spray chemical to sterilize vehicles against the virus in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam, on Feb. 7.
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A woman hangs a Japanese flag that reads "shortage of medicine" onboard the cruise ship Diamond Princess, which is anchored at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 7. 
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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks about the coronavirus situation during a news conference at the Centers for Disease Control in Taipei, Taiwan, on Feb. 7. 
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Spectators wear masks while attending the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 6.
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Members of an emergency team participate in a drill to prepare for the potential arrival of passengers infected with the coronavirus at the Viru Viru International Airport, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, on Feb. 6. 
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Airport security staff checks passengers using a thermal sensor screen at the Hong Kong International Airport on Feb. 6. 
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A tourist receives a free protective face mask from Buddhist volunteers in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 6.
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Nurses check the temperature of visitors at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Feb. 5.

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Joe Parisi, Dane County executive, discusses the first confirmed case of coronavirus in a Wisconsin resident as Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway looks on during a news conference in Madison, Wisconsin, on Feb. 5.

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Passengers watch as ambulances transfer passengers, who tested positive for coronavirus, from the cruise ship Diamond Princess to a hospital, after the ship arrived at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, on Feb. 6. 
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A group of medical personnel meet evacuees, carried by a Russian military plane at an airport outside Tyumen, Russia, on Feb. 5. Russia evacuated 144 people, Russians and nationals of Belarus, Ukraine and Armenia, from the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, on the day. All evacuees will be quarantined for two weeks in a sanatorium in the Tyumen region in western Siberia, government officials said.
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Workers in protective gear are seen on Japan Coast Guard boats in Yokohama, Japan, on Feb. 5, bringing patients from the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship.

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Workers wearing protective gears spray disinfectant on a street at Namdaemun Market in Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 5.

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A public health ministry nurse measures the temperature of a passenger arriving from France, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Feb. 4.

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Employees wearing face masks are seen at a hotel near Algiers, Algeria, on Feb. 4, where people who were evacuated from Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, are quarantined as a preventive measure.

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Sylvie Briand, director of infectious hazard management department at the World Health Organization (WHO), attends a press conference on the coronavirus in Geneva, Switzerland, on Feb. 4.

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Beds are set up at an exhibition center, which was converted into a hospital, in Wuhan on Feb. 4. 

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This handout photo released by Malaysia's Ministry of Health shows citizens being directed onto a bus by health officials as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia in Feb. 4. 

47/116 SLIDES © Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images

People wear face masks as they go about their daily lives in Singapore on Feb. 4. 

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Medical workers hold a strike outside the office of Hospital Authority in Hong Kong, as they demand the closure of borders with China, on Feb. 4.

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A nurse checks the temperature of a visitor as part of the coronavirus screening procedure at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 3.

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Young men wear masks for protection against the new coronavirus as they take part in a conscription examination for the national service in Seoul on Feb. 3.
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Medical workers hold a strike near Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong to demand the government to shut the territory's border with mainland China in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, on Feb. 3.
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Health services staff members wearing protective gear interact with passengers at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 2.
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Police walk past signage before the arrival of Myanmar students, who were evacuated on a chartered flight from Wuhan, at the international airport in Mandalay, Myanmar, on Feb. 2.

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Members of the Association for Sri Lanka and China Social and Cultural Cooperation (ASLCSCC) hold candles during a vigil to pray for people who are suffering from coronavirus across the world, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Feb. 1.

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A staff member sanitizes the road at an entrance of a residential complex in Beijing on Feb. 1.
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German Minister for Defense Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (R) and German Minister for Health Jens Spahn give a joint statement in Bonn, Germany, on Feb. 1, on the evacuation of more than 100 German citizens from Wuhan following the coronavirus outbreak.

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Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca speaks to the press after a Turkish cargo plane carrying 42 passengers from Wuhan landed at Etimesgut Military Airport in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 1.
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Customers wear protective masks as they shop at a store in Alhambra, California, U.S., on Jan. 31.
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Arnaud Fontanet, director of global health department at Institut Pasteur, speaks during a news conference over the latest findings on coronavirus in Paris, France, on Jan. 31.

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People wear face masks while shopping at a supermarket in Beijing, on Jan. 31.
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Masks are seen at a pharmacy in Seoul on Jan. 31.
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Students pray for the victims of coronavirus at a school in Chandigarh, India, on Jan. 31.
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Police wear protective masks as they stand guard in Beijing, on Jan. 31.
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Medical staff of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health prepares to screen passengers at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport of Ethiopia, on Jan. 31.
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Employees of the airport's epidemiological surveillance at a medical aid station at Terminal F of Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki, Russia, on Jan. 31.
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Officials make preparations in Turkish Air Forces' A400M cargo plane at Etimesgut Military Airbase in Ankara, which is to depart to China to fly Turkish citizens out of Wuhan, on Jan. 31.
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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, and Didier Houssin, chair of the emergency committee, at the opening of the second meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV in Geneva on Jan. 30.

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A technician shows the sample analysis work in preparation for the study of possible cases of coronavirus at the Public Health Institute of Chile (ISP) in Santiago, Chile, on Jan. 30.
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China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun stated in his press briefing that over 130 patients have been cured of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus in New York City, New York, U.S., on Jan. 31.
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Passengers are seen onboard the Costa Smeralda cruise ship as it sits docked at the Italian port of Civitavecchia on Jan. 30. The ship was quarantined over fears of coronavirus but the passengers were allowed to disembark later. 
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Medical staff with protective clothing are seen inside a ward specialized in treating people who may have been infected with the virus, at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General hospital in Chennai, India, on Jan. 29.

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Travelers are seen wearing a protective mask during check-in at the Changi Airport in Singapore on Jan. 30.
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An official of Pakistan-based Chinese company (R) uses a thermo gun to check the temperature of the company's drivers in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Jan. 30, after instructions from authorities to take preventive measures against the virus.
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Elderly men are seen wearing masks as a precaution at a park in Hong Kong on Jan. 30.
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A worker uses a thermometer to check the temperature of a customer as she enters a Starbucks shop in Beijing, on Jan. 30.
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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a news conference on the coronavirus outbreak in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 30.
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Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha (C) speaks to journalists during a visit to Suvarnabhumi Airport to inspect measures in place to monitor passengers as they arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, on Jan. 29.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Health Minister Mikhail Murashko during a meeting on preventing the spread of the virus in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 29.
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Children are seen wearing facial masks as a precaution after Nepal confirmed the first case of coronavirus in the country, at Matribhumi School in Madhyapur Thimi, Nepal, on Jan. 29.
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Tedros Adhanom, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks during a news conference at the United Nations, in Geneva, on Jan. 29.

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Passengers from China are checked by Saudi Health Ministry employees upon their arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 29. 
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Passengers arriving on flights wear protective masks at the international airport in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 29. 

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An ambulance carrying a Japanese citizen repatriated from Wuhan, who showed flu-like symptoms during in-flight screening for coronavirus, leaves Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on Jan. 29. 
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Students disinfect their hands before entering class at a school in Phnom Penh, on Jan. 28. Cambodia's health ministry reported the country's first case of coronavirus on Jan. 27.

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A woman wearing a protective mask prays at the Lungshan Temple on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 28.

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Paramilitary officers wearing face masks stand guard at the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, on Jan. 27.

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Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer of Ontario (C), speaks as Dr. Eileen de Villa, medical officer of health for the city of Toronto (L) and Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario's associate chief medical officer of health, during a press briefing on coronavirus at Queens Park in Toronto, Canada, on Jan. 27. The Ontario health officials announced the confirmation of the first case of coronavirus in Toronto, along with a presumptive second case of the virus in the city.

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Images captured by a thermographic imaging device to check the temperatures of arriving passengers at a quarantine station are seen on a monitor at the Oscar Arnulfo Romero International Airport in San Luis Talpa, El Salvador, on Jan. 26.

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A security force member stands in front of the pandemic center where a suspected case of coronavirus is under observation at Félix Houphouët Boigny International Airport in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Jan. 26.

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A banner placed by Indian health workers is seen during a coronavirus information camp for travelers at an India-Nepal border crossing, near Siliguri, India, on Jan. 26.

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(L-R) Sabine Hagenauer of the infection department at the 4th medical department of Kaiser Franz Josef Hospital, Michael Binder, medical director of the Vienna Hospital Association, and Judith Aberle of the department of virology, Medical University Vienna, address a press conference at Kaiser-Franz-Josef hospital in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 26. A Chinese flight attendant was quarantined in the hospital with symptoms of flu, in what authorities suspected as the first coronavirus case in the country.

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A health worker checks the temperature of a woman entering a subway station in Beijing, on Jan. 25.

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Dozens of diggers work to build a new hospital in Wuhan, on Jan. 25. Due to the large number of infected people, the government decided to establish a temporary 1,000-bed hospital.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam addresses a press conference in Hong Kong on Jan. 25. Announcing a citywide virus emergency, Lam ordered the cancellation of all official trips to mainland China and school shutdown till Feb. 17.

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Security personnel wearing hazardous material suits measure body temperatures of passenger at the entrance of a subway station in Beijing on Jan. 25.

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A disinfection worker wearing protective gear sprays anti-septic solution in a train at SRT train station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.

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Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, speaks to reporters about a patient who has been diagnosed with coronavirus, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Jan. 24.
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A Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being) official uses a thermal imaging device to conduct a temperature check of passengers arriving at Krasnoyarsk International Airport on a plane from Cam Rahn, Vietnam, in Russia on Jan. 23.
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Francisco Alvarez, the regional public health officer, speaks to dockworkers about the new coronavirus, in the port of Valparaiso, Chile, on Jan. 23.
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Sanitation workers spray a disinfectant at Suseo Station in Seoul, on Jan. 24.

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A passenger holds up an Australian Government document pertaining to the coronavirus as passengers arrive at Sydney International Airport in Australia on Jan. 23. 

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Locals wear face masks while browsing in a store ahead of the Lunar New Year, in Taipei, on Jan. 23, 2020. A day earlier, Taiwan stopped sending tour groups to, or receiving tour groups from Wuhan, China, due to concerns over the cornonavirus outbreak.

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Airport personnel look at thermal scanners as they check on arriving passengers at the Manila International Airport in Philippines on Jan. 23. 
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Passengers arriving from China are screened at Kolkata International Airport, India, on Jan. 22, 2020. Screening centers have been set up in the Indian cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Cochin apart from three airports at Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to screen for the coronavirus. 

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Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, takes part in a news conference after a meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee to discuss about the outbreak of Pneumonia in China and other countries due to the 2019-nCoV, in Geneva, on Jan. 22.
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A worker disinfects a railway station in Wuhan on Jan. 22.
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Passengers wear masks at a subway station in Hong Kong on Jan. 22.
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Deputy Australian Prime Minister Michael McCormack (L) and Prime Minister Scott Morrison (C) are updated by Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy on the steps being taken to control the virus, at the National Incident Room of the Department of Health in Canberra, Australia, on Jan. 22.
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Li Bin (C), vice minister of China's National Health Commission, answers questions during a press conference on Jan. 22. 
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Kazakh sanitary-epidemiological service worker uses a thermal scanner to detect travelers from China who may have symptoms possibly connected with the coronavirus at Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan Jan. 21.
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People walk next to signage detailing hygienic practices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at the Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 21.

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Health officials watch travelers on a thermographic monitor at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, on Jan. 21.
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The Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market, where a number of people related to the market fell ill with the virus, sits closed in Wuhan on Jan. 21.
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Medical staff transfer patients to Jinyintan hospital where patients infected with the coronavirus are being treated, in Wuhan on Jan. 20.
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A stock investor checks prices at a brokerage house in Fuyang, China, on Jan. 21. China's market went down by 1.4 percent after the news of the coronavirus.
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A passenger walks past a notice for passengers from Wuhan, displayed near a quarantine station at Narita International Airport in Japan on Jan. 17.
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