Chinese expert assures virus will be collared by April

China will contain the coronavirus epidemic by the end of April, the head of China's coronavirus expert team, Zhong Nanshan, said in a press conference held in Guangzhou, Thursday, state media reports.

As he spoke, Hubei was grappling with more than 1,400 coronavirus patients who are critically ill in hospital.
Zhong added that the first coronavirus case was confirmed in China, but the source of the virus might not have come from China, as many other countries are also reporting cases.

The new coronavirus emerged in Wuhan in central Hubei province in December. But an early warning from a doctor who later died was muffled and the doctor silenced with a police warning.  
Zhong's team previously predicted the peak of the epidemic to arrive in mid to late February.

Zhong said that he is confident in the prevention and control measures China has taken and stands by the predictions made by his team.

By Wednesday there were 78,497 people infected in China and 2,744 people had died.

Also, 2,358 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus.

Among the 34,978 hospitalized patients in Hubei, 6,581 are in severe condition and another 1,403 are critical.