A news report is doing rounds on the social media which claims that a team of Chinese surgeons has successfully carried out the world's first double-lung transplant on a victim who had been infected with coronavirus (COVID-19), hoping to explore new treatments against the deadly virus.

The news was shared by one of the leading media outlet of China along with a photo of medics with the caption: "World's first lung transplant surgery on #COVID19 patient has been a success at a hospital in Wuxi, E China's Jiangsu. Led by Chen Jingyu, the medical team on Saturday transplanted a lung for a recovered patient who suffered from severe lung damage", Beijing Youth Daily reported. The picture shows the team of doctors after successfully carrying out the first double-lung transplant on coronavirus patient who was confirmed to be infected with the disease on January 26.

As the news came out in the public domain, social media has been abuzz with reactions. A user wrote, "Recovered from #covid19 and needs a new lung. That does not sound like a real recovery. How many 'recovered' needs new lungs in China, any estimations?" "Where did Chinese doctors get their lungs? It may be the lungs of political prisoners," wrote one user. A post read: "Where did they fork out the lung, exactly? U don't take a lung from infected donor right. It must be from healthy donors." "World famous Chinese organ harvesting here. Who was the victim? Uyghur people?" a user remarked.

The deadly coronavirus has killed a total of 2,912 people in mainland China, bringing the global death toll to more than 3,000, authorities said on March 2. The overall number of infections in China stood at 80,026 as of Monday morning.