A doctor is checking patients at a Fang Cang Hospital in Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

Doctors at the Fang Cang hospital in Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

While some netizens turned a blind eye to China's efforts to treat patients infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia and depicted newly established Fang Cang makeshift hospitals as "concentration camps," patients staying at the hospitals said things are getting better day by day and people should have confidence in overcoming the difficult time.

Li Tian, a 43-year-old single mother, had a regrettable Spring Festival holiday this year. Including her, the whole family has been infected with the highly contagious virus. On February 5, her mother passed away, leaving her father, her 15-year-old son and herself in pain and sorrow.

After a week, Li, her father and her son are now at a Fang Cang makeshift hospital, which was set up following a renovation at Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, and she told the Global Times on Tuesday that things are getting better.

"I should have been heartbroken after my mom died, but I couldn't be as I have my dad and my son to take care of, and I have to be strong," she said.

At the hospital, there are some posters saying, "confidence is more important than gold," and doctors as well as nurses in protective suits have been busy day and night, according to some video clips and photos Li shared with the Global Times.

Patients queue up for filling bottles with boiled water in the Fang Cang hospital at Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

Patients at the Fang Cang hospital in Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

Many patients get up around 6 am every day and queue up for filling bottles with boiled water, and an hour later, nurses begin distributing breakfast including buns, eggs, porridge and milk, she noted. Then doctors check patients room by room while staff members disinfect the facility.

Nurses check body temperature and oxygen saturation three times a day, and sometimes mobilize patients to do exercise.

"It's getting better and better," Li said, noting that the hospital is equipped with microwaves and TVs, which is more like a "home" for patients.

Patients can find doctors and nurses at consulting and service desks of the Fang Cang hospital at Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

According to her description, each hospital section, with fewer than 50 patients, is staffed by four doctors and two nurses. If doctors do not check on patients, patients can find them at the hospital's consulting and service desks.

Most of the time, Li, like other patients, rests in bed. At lunch and dinner time, she goes to the room where her father and son rest, and sometimes washes their clothes, as male and female patients are in separate sections.

Books for patients to read in the Fang Cang hospital at Wuhan International Conference & Exhibition Center in Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

Photos show some patients lying in the bed wearing masks while others line up for the bathroom. Everything appeared to be in order. And in the corner of the room, some books have been placed on a bookshelf for patients to read.

"We come here to fight the disease, not to enjoy life," Li said, commenting on some online criticism about disappointing living condition in the hospital. "I'm reading Scream written by Lu Xun, trying to find positive energy and cheer myself up," she said.

When some roommates complained about the disease and living conditions in the temporary hospital, Li said she would tell them to think about her mother, who did not even have the chance to be admitted to hospitals like Fang Cang.

The first 28 patients with the virus were discharged from Wuchang Fang Cang makeshift hospital on Tuesday.

The young man, who went viral in China for reading Francis Fukuyama's Origins of Political Order at a Fang Cang hospital in Jianghan district, Wuhan,Central China's Hubei Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Tian

A young man went viral in China for reading Francis Fukuyama's Origins of Political Order at a Fang Cang hospital. Fukuyama himself even re-tweeted his book-reading picture. The young man shares the same room with Li's father and son.

To Li, the man was very calm. Every day he reads and relaxes and doesn't bother anyone. "He is not as anxious as everyone else," said Li.

Such calmness and confidence would eventually rub off on other patients in Wuhan, according to observers.

Given the growing number of patients, 28 designated hospitals in Wuhan have provided 8,895 beds, with specially built hospitals Huoshenshan and Leishenshan providing 2,600 beds and three Fang Cang makeshift hospitals providing in total 4,250, as well as Party schools and city colleges renovated to provide 5,400, the total available hospital bed supply in the epicenter could reach 21,145, local media reported during the weekend, citing government officials.

A Wuhan resident surnamed Zhao told the Global Times that her mother was admitted to another Fang Cang makeshift hospital in Wuchang district on February 5. "Conditions were not good the first day she moved in; there was no one to clean the toilet or to serve food," said Zhao. But conditions improved the next day.

Zhao said her mother eats better than most people outside, as the hospital serves patients shrimp, steak and fish, but many people outside are quite thrifty about food as the lockdown has limited food supplies.

Talking about the criticism of Fang Cang, Zhao said that people's instinct to gain favorable conditions for themselves is understandable. However, they should also appreciate the government's actions during this critical time.

"They should understand that the government is stepping up its efforts to contain the virus and is trying to hospitalize all patients. Not to mention that we have the whole country's support," said Zhao.

Another patient who only gave her name as Guo Guo told the Global Times that the nurses and doctors sometimes organize patients to do exercises, including dancing and practicing tai chi to "keep a joyful body and mind, and to enhance their immunity system." 

Radio broadcast is also available to patients to enrich their lives, said Guo Guo. "I really appreciate those medical workers' work, they made every patient feel part of a big family here," she said. 


Newspaper headline: Makeshift hospitals improving