Wuhan hospital built for outbreak starts to treat patients

Huoshenshan Hospital, one of two hospitals in Wuhan being built to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak, started to treat patients infected on the morning of Feb 4.

The first group of 50 patients from three hospitals, including Wuchang Hospital and Hankou Hospital, has been transferred to the new hospital and the patients are currently under treatment.

Those patients were transported by negative pressure isolation ambulances starting from Monday evening, according to videos posted online.

Huoshenshan Hospital, which was built in 10 days, was delivered on Sunday in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in central China’s Hubei province.

The makeshift hospital now has a capacity of 1,000 beds.

A total of 1,400 medical staff from the armed forces have been tasked with treating patients in Huoshenshan Hospital starting from Monday.

Replicating Beijing’s SARS treatment model in 2003, Wuhan started building two makeshift hospitals: Leishenshan Hospital and Huoshenshan Hospital.