Wenzhou, on China's east coast, had at least 340 confirmed coronavirus patients as of Tuesday, the biggest number for a single city outside of Hubei Province. Local authorities said that's because nearly 50,000 people who study and work in Hubei had returned for the holiday. As confirmed cases continue to rise in Wenzhou, CGTN visited a local hospital, a quarantine site, a residential compound and a farmer's market to see how the city and its residents are responding to the epidemic.
A Test of Medical System Strength
"On Jan 16 we first got the news that Wenzhou had confirmed coronavirus patients, and the next morning we had the first isolation wards ready and started receiving patients in the afternoon," a doctor from Wenzhou No.6 People's Hospital said during a telephone interview on Saturday.
According to Wenzhou authorities, 10 hospitals that are the city's strongest in their medical treatment capabilities, have now been designated to treat coronavirus patients, which in total have 1,474 beds. An extra 8 hospitals with 676 more beds serve as a backup. So far more than 1,600 medical staff members are working at the frontline; a second group of 540 people have completed their training and are ready to join treatment work at any time.
Interview with Jiang Xiangao, deputy leader of Wenzhou's coronavirus treatment expert team. /CGTN Photo
"So far our medical supplies are still adequate, and every day I keep telling our staff to not be afraid. Because although this disease is quite infectious, the ratio of severely affected patients is lower than for SARS and MERS," said Jiang Xiangao, deputy leader of Wenzhou's coronavirus expert team.
As of Tuesday, 28 people have recovered and been discharged from Wenzhou hospitals.
Wenzhou ramps up prevention and control across city
To curb contagion, Wenzhou's government published 25 urgent measures late Friday evening, which not only prescribe quarantine for those who have close contact with infected patients, but also encourage those who could have potentially been affected and were monitoring their health at home, to move into designated hotels for better observation. So far, the city's hotels and other quarantine sites have accommodated more than 20,000 people, according to official data.
Apart from enhanced isolation for potential cases, Wenzhou has also put restrictions on both traffic into the city and the movement of people internally. From Feb. 2-8, only one person in each household can come out once every two days to shop.
Interview with Zhu Jianheng, manager of a quarantine site in Wenzhou. /CGTN Photo
"It is for the safety of everyone," one resident said after returning home from grocery shopping. A restaurant owner expressed understanding of the restriction, despite having less than 10 percent of the customers they used to have.
A visit to Wenzhou's urban village and farmer's market
(Cover image: Interview with a Wenzhou resident at a farmer’s market. /CGTN Photo