Photo: Xinhua

 More than 10,000 beds will soon be available in Wuhan, which are enough to treat the current number of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, Chinese authorities said Tuesday.

Jiao Yahui, deputy head of medical policy and administration bureau under National Health Commission (NHC), told a daily press conference on Tuesday that the city of Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus infection, is now building two new hospitals specializing in the treatment of patients with  novel coronavirus. Huoshenshan hospital, which will be put into use on February 2, and Leishenshan hospital, which will begin operating on February 5, are expected to provide between 2,000 to 2,300 beds. The city is also allocating thousands of hospital beds in 14 other hospitals. 

“To sum up, the more than 10,000 beds are enough to treat patients infected with the coronavirus,” Jiao said. 

Li Xingwang, chief epidemic disease expert at Beijing Ditan Hospital, said the official number of infections as of Monday stands at more than 4,000, and authorities are updating the number based on factual data every day, refuting rumors claiming that more than 100,000 people have been infected.

So far, 4,130 medical staff from around China specializing in Western or Chinese medicine have arrived in Hubei Province to assist local medical work. It is expected that altogether 6,000 medical staff will arrive in Hubei.

The country reported 1,771 new cases of novel coronavirus on Monday, mostly from Hubei Province, pushing the confirmed number of cases to 4,515 in total. The official death toll reached 106 on Monday.

The treatment of novel coronavirus-infected patients lasts from one to two weeks, and they must pass tests twice before they are allowed to leave hospital, said Li. He noted the number of discharged patients is set to increase.

More than 10,000 people visited hospital clinics in Wuhan on Monday and 377 were admitted for observation, said Jiao, adding the difficulty in receiving hospital treatment has been greatly eased.

Global Times