People seal the gate of a makeshift hospital in Shanghai on May 25, 2022, marking the official close of the facility. The city's Omicron epidemic situation is improving. Photo: IC

Multiple places across China have noted that local makeshift hospitals constructed during the COVID-19 pandemic remain idle. These announcements come after plans to construct a makeshift hospital in Jiamusi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province have provoked a storm on social media.  

Local authorities in places such as Southwest China's Chongqing, Xingtai in North China's Hebei Province and Zigong in Southwest China's Sichuan Province noted that their makeshift hospitals are no longer being used as medical institutions and are now being used for other purposes or just lying idle. 

Last week, the topic of a makeshift hospital construction project at a residential compound in Jiamusi, Northeast China's Heilongjiang began trending on China's social media platforms, stirring up heated debate online as many netizens questioned the necessity for such a project since the pandemic has been over for a while.  

A viral video shows that the city's housing and urban-rural development bureau is responsible for the project, which was only set for a public announcement from August 1 to 9. 

The project bidding announcement shows that the budget for the project, which includes the construction of a makeshift hospital and a centralized quarantine site, is more than 42 million yuan ($5.86 billion) for each building. 

Netizens questioned the necessity of the project since many makeshift hospitals across the country are actually being demolished. 

According to media reports, the local natural resources and planning bureau explained that the project was approved before the end of the pandemic and that the funds had already been allocated. However, they noted that while the project funding was issued in the name of constructing a makeshift hospital, it would actually be used in the construction of tourism projects and hotels. 
However, some officials had another explanation, saying that these new facilities will be used as venues to popularize first aid knowledge and training to improve the overall medical level in the city. 

These varying explanations have further stirred public outcry that many people called it an "absurd project" as they felt it is nothing more than a waste of money and resources. 

Since the end of the pandemic, discussions about whether makeshift hospitals should be retained or not have not stopped. While some people think that these temporary emergency facilities are no longer needed, others think they should be retained to prepare for possible outbreaks in the future. Many experts think the issue requires more study since the makeshift hospitals cost a lot of investment and the facilities occupy large areas of land.

Zhuang Shilihe, a medical expert based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province told the Global Times on Sunday that from the perspective of the country's current pandemic control policy, makeshift hospitals are not necessary. Additionally, compared with makeshift hospitals, medicine and vaccines are more effective than makeshift hospitals in combating future rounds of the pandemic.

Some makeshift hospital construction projects are also set for other places across the country such as Harbin in Heilongjiang and Wenshan in Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Whereas in Danzhou in South China's Hainan Province and Ejin Banner in Alxa League in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, plans to demolish or renovate the makeshift hospitals have been announced, according to media reports. 

In response to public queries, the local health commission in Changshou district, Chongqing, said that the makeshift hospital in the district is currently sitting idle. Since the project involved a lot of investment, the medical supplies and infrastructure must be made use of in a scientific and reasonable way to avoid wasting resources. The building may also be turned into a plant for lease or to be renovated into a rehabilitation facility, or nursing home for the elderly. 

In Ningjin county, Hebei Province, a proposal to renovate a makeshift hospital into a nursing home has been rejected since the design of the building is unsuitable for a nursing home. However, the local authority said the makeshift hospital will be retained. 

Besides this, local authorities in Xuancheng, Anhui and Zigong, Sichuan also said their makeshift hospitals are currently idle but will be retained for other purposes.