with new cases of covid-19 continuing to rise, hospital beds in wuhan were hard to meet the need. at its worst time, the city saw severe patients wait up to 9.82 days on average for a hospital bed, and many mild cases are left to wait, only to get worse.
this is why the government decided to build temporary hospitals to receive patients with mild symptoms starting feb. 3.
most temporary hospitals have been converted from large buildings, such as gyms, convention or exhibition centers. they function just like a normal hospital, with medical function unit, ward unit and technical support unit.
the national emergency medical rescue team, military medics and medical teams from provincial-level regions have shouldered major responsibilities for the treatment work in these hospitals.
the temporary hospitals are equipped with ct scanners and full sets of infectious disease detection equipment. the national emergency medical rescue team has provided mobile p3 laboratories, which can detect the virus. the 17-meter-long vehicle for hazardous medical waste incineration is also put in place.
the temporary hospitals also have special sewerage treatment equipment with an online automatic monitoring system. there are also water heaters, portable toilets, septic tanks and wi-fi.
wuhan international conference and exhibition center is one of the first converted hospitals. over 1,000 beds with full set of beddings were installed overnight. toiletries, cups, hand warmers, tissues, cotton slippers, notebooks, water basins, electric blankets and heaters were all prepared for patients.
the exhibition center started construction on the evening of feb. 3 and was put into use on feb. 5. the first six patients were cured and discharged from the hospital on feb. 11.
as of feb. 18, wuhan has put in place 12 temporary hospitals. the largest can provide 3,690 beds and the smallest has over 500 beds. the building of another 19 temporary hospitals with a total of more than 30,000 beds has also been planned.
from feb.3 to feb.18, on average, nearly one temporary hospital was built and over 1,000 beds were added in a day. behind this are people, materials and other resources from all over china swiftly sent to wuhan to ensure the epidemic is under control as soon as possible.
as of march 10, all temporary hospitals closed as the epidemic has been effectively under control.
tedros adhanom ghebreyesus, who director-general, said the high speed and massive scale of china's moves are rarely seen in the world, adding that it showed china's efficiency and the advantages of china's system.
this is how china combats the coronavirus.
