(Yicai Global) Feb. 18 -- China needs to investigate why almost 1,720 medical workers were infected with the new coronavirus as of Feb. 11, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In-depth research is needed to find out why medical protection failed these people, most of whom were working in the virus epicenter of Hubei province, the CDC wrote in a report published yesterday in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology.

Among the total population, 1,870 people have died of the new respiratory disease which has infected over 72,500 in China so far. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the country has stepped up production of face masks and other protective gear.

Five medical workers have died of Covid-19 while working at more than 420 institutions set up to treat patients. The peak of exposure seems to have been Jan. 28 and it is likely that most of them contracted the virus at their workplaces, but there is no conclusive evidence of a specific reason, the report added. Some 63 percent of the confirmed cases were in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei. The number of suspected cases is as high as 3,019.

Washing hands often, wearing face masks, and restricting movement have been effective in curbing the spread of the virus, the report added, citing a slowdown in the increase of new cases. 

Editors: Zhang Yushuo, Emmi Laine