Heads will have to roll in the top echelons of Hubei’s government and China’s national public health watchdog, now that the novel coronavirus emanating from Wuhan, the province’s capital, has infected thousands in the central region and creeped into not only major urban centers but also rural areas, Taiwan, Tibet and the rest of Asia.

More people are developing febrile respiratory symptoms across the country, and the number of people killed by the pathogen – so new it does not have a name yet – broke the 100 mark on Tuesday.