Coronavirus: How has China been affected?

The virus was first detected in China

The coronavirus has been hitting the headlines recently.

It's a respiratory virus that affects peoples' breathing and lungs.

The first cases were found in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Britain has three confirmed cases and countries including the US, Japan, Germany, Australia and Malaysia have also been affected.

Parts of China are now under lockdown which means that people aren't able to go into or travel out of particular areas.

The lockdown has impacted the country in lots of different ways. Read on to find out more.

E-Sports events have been cancelled

The Overwatch League has cancelled some of its matches

Concerns around the spread of coronavirus have led to the cancellation of professional e-sports matches in China. The Overwatch League is set to reschedule more than 12 matches postponed in the cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou.

The league released a statement at the end of last month which said:

"We have decided to cancel our February and March matches in China in order to protect the health and safety of our players, fans and staff.

"We'll share more information about when and where the matches will take place at a later date."

The World Indoor Athletics Championships are on hold

This year's championships have been postponed until 2021

The World Indoor Athletics Championships have been postponed until 2021 to avoid the spread of the coronavirus. The event was scheduled to be held in the Chinese city of Nanjing from 13-15 March this year, but it will now take place in March 2021.

Several other cities did volunteer to host the championships, but none of these offers were taken up.

The organisers of the championships said: "We have considered the possibility of relocating the event to another country and would like to thank the cities that have volunteered to host the championships. However, given concerns still exist regarding the spread of the virus outside China, we have decided not to go with this option."

The fashion industry has been affected

Some factories have shut to try to stop the spread of the virus

China produces lots of the items we buy here in the UK including clothes, shoes and toys. However, some factories in the country have decided to temporarily halt production following the outbreak of coronavirus.

This is likely to have an impact on companies in the UK who rely on goods they sell to the public being sent over from China. When affected factories do re-open, some UK-based businesses may still see delays in deliveries.

Disruption to flights to and from China

Flights from Wuhan have been affected

The coronavirus outbreak has led to the cancellation of some flights to and from China.

Many of the flights travelling in and out of Wuhan have stopped and there have also been disruptions in other cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

The UK government has arranged for a final flight to bring British nationals back from Wuhan.

China's shares have dropped

China's shares are taking a knock thanks to the virus

The outbreak of the coronavirus has affected China's shares on the stock market.

Stocks are parts of companies that can be bought and sold by either people or other companies.

Fears over the coronavirus led to a sharp fall in Chinese shares when the market reopened after the Lunar New Year holiday.