People wait for treatment outside the fever clinic of Tongzhou Luhe Hospital on December 9, 2022. Photo: VCG

The number of patients admitted to fever clinics across Beijing's hospitals on Wednesday has fallen by 11 percent from its peak in recent days, according to local health officials Thursday, as medical treatment demand in fever clinics becomes more stable, despite remaining at an elevated level.

As the number of people infected by COVID-19 is rapidly increasing in Beijing, the Beijing health commission has kept improving its triage and treatment system while boosting the number of fever clinics from 94 to 1,263.

Beijing's hospital fever clinics admitted nearly 65,000 patients on Wednesday, a 11 percent drop compared with figures for December 15, according to the Beijing health commission.

As of Wednesday, Beijing has registered information of about 369,000 individuals, most of whom are aged 65 or older. The city is organizing local communities to provide pulse oximeter and oxygen cylinders to people in need.

The Beijing health commission required that emergency calls should be unblocked and hospitals admit all critical patients transferred by the ambulances as the city deploys 650 ambulance working groups to completed about 2,550 dispatches each day.

China' leading respiratory expert warned that Beijing may experience a spike in severe COVID-19 cases over the next fortnight, saying medical resources in the capital city are facing additional stress and urging medical institutions to expand intensive care units (ICUs) and boost medical resources to address the impending wave of infections.