The coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in horseshoe bats before crossing into humans in a market in the city of Wuhan, has forced China to reassess its relationship with animals, and it has vowed to ban the wildlife trade.

In April, Shenzhen became the first city in China to ban the consumption of dogs, with others expected to follow.

Officials on Friday additionally introduced a nationwide marketing campaign to examine all contemporary merchandise coming from “high-risk countries” following stories of recent virus clusters at crops in Germany and the US.

Explanations could be that more South Asians work in jobs where they would face a higher viral load, such as health and care, or genetic differences which made the group biologically more susceptible to the disease, but more work needed to be done, he told reporters.Data from the Office for National Statistics on Friday supported the idea that ethnic minorities are more at risk from COVID-19, although whether it is because certain groups are more likely to contract it to start with, or are more susceptible to it, is still unclear.

“This piece of protection may even save your life,” North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper told reporters, adding that he was considering statewide obligatory mask use on a day when statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations set a new high.