Medical experts are joining online medical consultation platforms to answer patients' questions and relieve public anxiety. Doctors remind the public not to panic, despite the rise in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

Xu Haixia is a respiratory medicine doctor from Hangzhou Xiaoshan Hospital, who is currently celebrating the Spring Festival holiday with the family. But the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has saddled her with a load of responsibilities because the disease is connected to her specialty area. A few days ago, she decided to join an online medical consultation platform to offer help.

Xu told CGTN that each day 200 to 300 people come to her for a consultation. Many of them are panicked, because some already did CT scans and other tests, which showed they were good, but they are still worried.

In the first few days, most inquiring patients were from Hubei Province, but recently inquiries have been pouring in from other provinces.

Xu says doctors like her and her colleagues can answer and share good information about the virus and clarify or debunk rumors on social media platforms. It is important to build confidence rather than panic, she added.

Many patients can't distinguish between a common flu and the new coronavirus, so it is better to ask professionals first, she says .

Recently, more doctors have joined these online medical consultation platforms. Their expertise is playing a key role in answering patients' questions and relieving public anxiety.

Weimai is one of the largest online medical service platforms in China. The company's CEO Qiu Jialin says they started offering free consultation services on January 21.

Qiu Jialin told CGTN that so far over 5,000 doctors specializing in respiratory and infectious diseases are offering consultations in the platform, and around 250,000 people have been consulted.

Many hospitals across the country are overcrowded with patients, putting pressure on doctors and raising risks of cross infection. Qiu says online medical platforms can cut time and offer primary checks.

Qiu told CGTN that online medical platforms can also help monitor and trace local patients' disease progression and even provide online psychological help.

Doctors say panic is the enemy of public health. As people now have more access to doctor's support, many believe life will return to normal soon.