Photo: Xinhua

 
More sports stadiums, exhibition centers and training centers will be converted into "Fangcang" makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei Province and the number of suspected and confirmed cases that had not been received and quarantined will be reduced to zero, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of National Health Commission (NHC).

Wang made the remarks during a press conference Saturday morning. This is the first press conference addressed by the State Council Information Office in epicenter Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei Province, since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia, or COVID-19. Besides, this was  Wang's first public appearance after he was included as a  member of the Hubei provincial standing committee of the Communist Party of China.

Xi Yanchun, spokesperson of the State Council Information Office, said the venue of the press conference has been moved from Beijing to Wuhan to boost courage and confidence among the people in Wuhan and Hubei as well, and manifest the country's firm determination to stand with Wuhan to fight against the COVID-19.

Wang vowed to identify all infected patients in the city so that they could be hospitalized and treated timely. Currently, Wuhan has nine "fangcang" makeshift hospitals in operation with 6,960 beds and has admitted 5,606 patients. 

While answering the concerns of the possibility of cross-infection, Jiao Yahui, an official in charge of hospital management of the NHC, said at the press conference, "Fangcang" makeshift hospitals are not the hotbed for cross-infection as these hospitals will only receive patients with mild symptoms rather than severe cases, and doctors are closely monitoring the situation. "Fangcang" hospitals have effectively relieved the pressure of those professional hospitals so they can treat the severe cases.

The Chinese government has dispatched 217 medical rescue teams of 25,633 members to Hubei, and these figures exclude the personnel of the People's Liberation Army's military medical team, said Wang. The number of members has surpassed those dispatched during the Wenchuan earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people in 2008, he noted.

Wang also mentioned the advantages of combined therapy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine, including the early use of the TCM to treat patients.

Some three groups of 2,220 TCM medical staff members have joined the fight against COVID-19 in Hubei and elicited good outcomes,Wang said. More than half of the confirmed cases in Hubei have been treated with TCM.

Global Times