China virus toll passes 1,000 as Xi visits frontline hospital

A staff member wearing a protective mask and suit works at a supermarket in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak. [AFP / STR]

The toll from China's deadly coronavirus outbreak passed 1,000 on Tuesday after President Xi Jinping called for more "decisive" measures to tackle the outbreak in a rare visit to a frontline hospital.

The Chinese president donned a face mask and had his temperature checked while visiting medical workers and patients affected by the deadly coronavirus that has killed at least 1,011 people.