China allocates $640 million for coronavirus control

The govt included an additional 500 million yuan fund for central China's Hubei Province, which was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak. A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.

Beijing: The ministry of finance (MOF) has allocated over 4.4 billion yuan (about $640 million US) To support the battle against the novel coronaviruses (nCoV) in China.

The ministry also stated that it included an additional 500 million yuan fund for central China's Hubei Province, which was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, media reported.

Last week, the MOF had also allocated 1 billion yuan to Hubei to combat the spread of the virus in the province.

The virus, which was first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed 132 people in China alone, while more than a dozen other countries have reported cases so far.

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV).

A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.