China will increase medical care resources and optimize health infrastructure at planned permanent COVID-19 hospitals and quarantine sites, the country's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Monday.

The government announced the plan last Monday to build permanent treatment facilities and more COVID-19 test sites to reinforce the country's capability to prevent and treat the infection at the early stage. 

"Building makeshift hospitals does not mean that the situation is getting worse," said Guo Yanhong, an official with the NHC's medical supervision and administration bureau, at a news conference. ”Rather, it's a preventative movement to ensure a fast response once outbreaks happen."

Guo said that the plan is a proactive approach to building a medical system that balances the emergency-use and regular medical inquiries to minimize the impact of the pandemic.  

The plan aims first to improve nationwide infrastructures such as electricity, water supply, toilets, showers, and ventilation systems in particular while reserving related medical resources and materials, according to Guo. 

"Once there are certain outbreaks, with all the preparation in advance, we can assemble them and pull up with makeshift hospitals within 24 hours," Guo said.

The makeshift hospitals will be reserved to deal with future infectious diseases.

Meanwhile, the country also plans to appoint qualified hospitals at designated makeshift hospitals and increase hospital beds and intensive care units (ICUs) to the extent that "beds wait for patients," said Guo. "So that critical cases can be treated in a timely manner."

The move also meets the requirement of the latest version of COVID-19 treatment guidance of a tiered-treatment mechanism for different types of cases, which would enhance the efficiency of medical use, said Guo.