China shuts all temporary coronavirus hospitals in city of Wuhan

The final batch of 49 patients were discharged from the Wuchang makeshift hospital at 3:30 pm on March 10, the last of 15 such hospitals to be cleared of patients. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China has now closed all temporary hospitals in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of a coronavirus outbreak, a news website backed by the Shanghai government, the Paper, said on its official Twitter account on Tuesday.

WANG XIAODONG in Wuhan | China Daily |  All the 15 temporary hospitals built to exclusively receive novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, Hubei province, have been closed, with the daily number of reported new cases hitting a record low.

Wuchang Temporary Hospital, which was converted from a sports stadium, closed on Tuesday afternoon after its final 49 patients were discharged, making it the last of the temporary hospitals in Wuhan, the center of the epidemic in China, to close its doors.

The hospital, which was converted within two days, received a total of 1,124 patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 in the 35 days of its operation. No patients died in the hospital and none of its medical staff were infected, according to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, its leading operator.

The city's 15 temporary hospitals, which were converted from exhibition halls, sports stadiums and warehouses, received more than 12,000 patients, which means that one in four COVID-19 patients in Wuhan were treated in these hospitals, said Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission.All the 15 temporary hospitals built to exclusively receive novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, Hubei province, have been closed, with the daily number of reported new cases hitting a record low.

A ceremony is held to celebrate the closing of Wuchang makeshift hospital on March 10, 2020. [Photo by Wang Jing/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wuchang Temporary Hospital, which was converted from a sports stadium, closed on Tuesday afternoon after its final 49 patients were discharged, making it the last of the temporary hospitals in Wuhan, the center of the epidemic in China, to close its doors.

Medics help patients take their bags as the Wuchang makeshift hospital closes on March 10, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/chinadaily.com.cn]

The hospital, which was converted within two days, received a total of 1,124 patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 in the 35 days of its operation. No patients died in the hospital and none of its medical staff were infected, according to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, its leading operator.

Medical workers pose for a group photo after the last batch of recovered patients are discharged from Jiangxia Hospital, a makeshift facility in Wuhan operated by TCM professionals in Central China's Hubei province, on March 10, 2020. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

The city's 15 temporary hospitals, which were converted from exhibition halls, sports stadiums and warehouses, received more than 12,000 patients, which means that one in four COVID-19 patients in Wuhan were treated in these hospitals, said Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission.All the 15 temporary hospitals built to exclusively receive novel coronavirus patients in Wuhan, Hubei province, have been closed, with the daily number of reported new cases hitting a record low.

Wuchang Temporary Hospital, which was converted from a sports stadium, closed on Tuesday afternoon after its final 49 patients were discharged, making it the last of the temporary hospitals in Wuhan, the center of the epidemic in China, to close its doors.

The hospital, which was converted within two days, received a total of 1,124 patients with mild symptoms of COVID-19 in the 35 days of its operation. No patients died in the hospital and none of its medical staff were infected, according to Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, its leading operator.

The city's 15 temporary hospitals, which were converted from exhibition halls, sports stadiums and warehouses, received more than 12,000 patients, which means that one in four COVID-19 patients in Wuhan were treated in these hospitals, said Ma Xiaowei, minister of the National Health Commission.

The hospitals were built to help ease the severe shortage of beds in regular hospitals in Wuhan during the height of the epidemic in February. They started to close at the beginning of this month.

Patients say goodbye to medics as the Wuchang makeshift hospital closes on March 10, 2020. [Photo by Ke Hao/chinadaily.com.cn]

Only 17 new cases were reported in Wuhan on Monday, compared with 3,910 at the peak of the outbreak on Feb 13, according to the National Health Commission. In addition, only two new cases were reported in other areas of the Chinese mainland, both of which imported, the commission said.

Jiao Yahui, an official for medical administration and supervision at the commission, said at a ceremony marking the closure of Wuchang Temporary Hospital on Tuesday afternoon that closing all the temporary hospitals signified progress in epidemic control efforts.

"Here we are lighthearted as we mark the closure of the last temporary hospital. This is an entirely different mood from the one we had when the hospitals started to receive patients on Feb 5," she said. "However, we cannot relax as there are still more than 13,000 patients receiving treatment in Wuhan. We will not cease the battle until the last patient is cured and discharged from the hospital."

The COVID-19 epidemic has killed more than 3,100 people on the Chinese mainland — including more than 2,400 in Wuhan — since the outbreak was first reported in Wuhan in December, the commission said on Tuesday.

Building such temporary hospitals was a major measure to help prevent and control novel coronavirus pneumonia in Wuhan and combat the highly infectious disease. During the height of the epidemic in late January and early February, many residents with mild symptoms were quarantined at home instead of in hospitals due to reasons such as a shortage of beds or fear of cross-infection.

Wang Chen, president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, who advocated building temporary hospitals in Wuhan, said some foreign countries that are now experiencing a rapid rise in cases may learn from the experience of treating patients with mild symptoms in such temporary hospitals.

In addition, authorities in China and other countries can consider formulating design standards for buildings such as major exhibition centers, stadiums and warehouses so they can be converted into temporary hospitals within 24 hours in cases of emergency, Wang said.

XINHUA, WUHAN          -            Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronaviraus outbreak in central China’s Hubei Province, on Monday suspended another public-facility-turned temporary hospital as the number of COVID-19 patients continued to drop in the city.

The last batch of 34 patients walked out of the temporary hospital of Jianghan at 3 p.m., waving farewell to the medics.

“Your discharge marks the closure of the temporary hospital of Jianghan,” said Hu Yu, president of the Wuhan Union Hospital that operated Jianghan over the past 34 days, when handing a hospital discharge certificate to a woman surnamed Guo.

Guo was admitted to the hospital on March 2 when she felt discomfort around her throat. “Medics here are very nice.  I felt as if I were staying in a big family rather than a hospital,” Guo said.

The closure of the temporary hospital of Jianghan, which was converted from the existing international exhibition center of Wuhan, has brought the number of closed temporary hospitals in the city to 14.

To treat patients with mild symptoms and isolate the source of infection, Wuhan converted public venues such as exhibition centers and gymnasiums into 16 temporary hospitals.

Some 12,000 patients were treated in these temporary hospitals, according to the city’s COVID-19 control headquarters.

The conversion work of the temporary hospital of Jianghan began at 5 p.m. on Feb. 3, and it was delivered to Wuhan Union Hospital and put into operation at 5 p.m. on Feb. 5.

With a total of 1,564 beds, the temporary hospital of Jianghan received its first patient at 9 p.m. on Feb. 5. Twenty-one medical teams from other provincial-level regions and six hospitals from Wuhan had worked in the hospital.

Over the past 34 days, the temporary hospital of Jianghan received a total of 1,848 patients, saw 521 patients being transferred to other hospitals and 1,327 patients discharged. It had the most available beds, admitted the most patients and saw the most discharged patients among all the temporary hospitals in Wuhan, according to sources with the Wuhan Union Hospital. The other two temporary hospitals remaining in operation are expected to close Tuesday, the headquarters said.

The temporary hospitals have almost achieved their initial goals to “accept all patients who need to be admitted to hospitals and treat all those who need to be treated” while severing sources of infection. It is an innovative and effective move that will provide guidance for future such situations, Hu said.

Wuhan reported 36 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 18 deaths on Sunday.