China is set to open a new hospital in the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, as the numbers of people infected continue to grow.
Wuhan’s 1,000-bed Huoshenshan Hospital, built in just eight days, is one of two dedicated facilities being constructed to help tackle the outbreak.
China is struggling to deal with the virus, with more than 17,000 confirmed cases and 361 deaths.
Sunday saw the first confirmed fatality outside China, in the Philippines.
The patient was a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan who appeared to have been infected before arriving in the Philippines.
Many countries have barred foreigners arriving from China and are quarantining their own citizens.
Latest figures from China’s National Health Commission on Monday revealed that, alongside the confirmed cases, there were:
- 21,558 suspected cases
- 152,700 people “under medical watch”
- 475 people discharged from hospital
There have been more than 150 confirmed cases of the virus outside China.
Hospitals in the province of Hubei – where Wuhan is located – are reportedly overwhelmed and struggling to treat the growing number of patients.
On Monday, hundreds of non-essential medical workers in Hong Kong went on strike – demanding that the territory’s border with mainland China be completely closed.
The territory’s authorities have refuseds, citing World Health Organization recommendations to introduce screening at borders – rather than closing them.
A newly formed medical union said frontline workers – including doctors and nurses – would strike on Tuesday if their demands were not met.
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has overtaken that of the similar Sars epidemic, which spread to more than two dozen countries in 2003.
But the mortality rate of the new virus is much lower, suggesting it is not as deadly.
Chinese state media reported on Sunday that construction of the new Huoshenshan hospital had been completed, and that it would open on Monday.
Local TV reports said 1,400 Chinese army medical staff, some with experience of infectious diseases, were arriving in Wuhan and being transferred to the new site.
A second hospital at Leishenshan is due to be finished on Wednesday.
Hospitals in the province are reportedly understaffed and overburdened, as the number of infections rises sharply.
According to the Washington Post, some hospital workers have begun wearing nappies because they don’t have time to use the bathroom.
Hospitals are also dealing with a shortage of medical supplies. The Wuhan Children’s Hospital posted on social media: “Medical supplies are in short supply – help!”
Videos on social media showed long queues outside hospitals.
In one video, a man with a Wuhan accent at a local hospital said it could take “as long as 10 hours” for patients to be seen by a doctor. BBC
