Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak, has activated 16 temporary hospitals, providing over 13,000 beds for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. So far, some 9,000 beds have been put into use.
Another 16 temporary hospitals will also be equipped to take in more patients, bringing the total number of beds in temporary hospitals to 30,000 by February 25.
One of them is Changjiang New Town Temporary Hospital.
Zhang Wei is the construction manager of this new temporary hospital. He said they started transforming these 20 workshop buildings into a temporary hospital from February 15. Over 1,500 construction workers finished the construction in only three days.
"The most difficult part was to transform the sewage disposal system. It needs to meet very high medical standard," Zhang added.
Zhang Wei, Construction Manager of Changjiang New Town Temporary Hospital. /CGTN
With over 3,500 beds, Changjiang New Town Temporary Hospital will be the largest temporary hospital in Wuhan.
Volunteers from the neighborhood conducted a final cleanup of the hospital before handing it over to the medical team.
Volunteers from Jiangan District, Wuhan City. /CGTN
Local resident Ms. Xia said it was their sixth day of doing volunteering work in this hospital. About 120 people in her neighborhood participated in it.
"I know someone even skipped the lunch to join us. We mopped the floor, made the beds, put the desk and chairs in order. We are glad we can help," Xia said.
The temporary hospitals play an important role in isolating the source of infection and cutting off the routes of infection during the epidemic outbreak.
To improve their medical treatment capability, every temporary hospital will have CT scans and other equipment, including electrocardiogram monitors.
Over 70 medical teams from other regions of China are treating patients in these temporary hospitals, together with their local colleagues.
In the early days of the COVID-19 epidemic, only 800 beds were available in three designated hospitals in the city. As of February 22, a total of 48 designated hospitals in Wuhan have over 27,000 beds available for COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms.
In addition, with the completion of new hospitals by Tuesday, temporary hospitals in Wuhan will be able to offer a total of 30,000 beds for patients with mild symptoms.