The Politburo Standing Committee may decide to postpone the parliamentary session scheduled to open in early March to deal with the corona virus.

"The Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party is scheduled to meet next week to make a preliminary decision on postponing the third session of the 13th National People's Congress," state news agency China Quoc Xinhua today said.

The Standing Committee of the Chinese Politburo will also consider a plan to ban illegal wildlife trade, as well as "abolish the habit of eating wild animals to ensure the safety and health of the people." The agency will meet and make a final decision on February 24.

The National People's Congress, the Chinese National Assembly, has been held every March for 35 years, to pass laws and announce economic targets for the year. The third session of the 13th National Assembly is scheduled to open on 5 March and lasts for 10 days, in the presence of more than 5,000 delegates from all over China.

The outbreak of corona pneumonia (Covid-19), which began in Hubei province, central China since December 2019, has been reported in 27 countries and territories. Worldwide there are 71,330 cases of infection, 1,775 deaths and 10,607 people cured. Five deaths outside of mainland China have been recorded in Japan, Hong Kong, France, the Philippines and Taiwan.