China has found the trading sections for meat and seafood in Beijing's wholesale food market to be severely contaminated with the new coronavirus and suspects the area's low temperature and high humidity may have been contributing factors, Reuters reported.

"Among the patients who work at the Xinfadi market, most serve at seafood and aquatic product stalls, followed by the beef and mutton section, and patients from the seafood market showed symptoms earlier than others," Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a daily briefing.

"Low temperatures favourable to viral survival as well as high humidity might be possible explanations for why seafood markets could be a source of outbreaks based on a preliminary assessment," Wu said, cautioning that further investigation was necessary.