2024 RT Amination Banner.gif

China Daily

News> Nation> Content
Wednesday, February 05, 2020, 12:14
Key meeting emphasizes treating all patients
By Xu Wei
Wednesday, February 05, 2020, 12:14 By Xu Wei

Medical workers escort patients infected with the novel coronavirus to the newly built Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Feb 4, 2020. (XIAO YIJIU / XINHUA)

A meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Tuesday adopted measures to enable more patients infected with the novel coronavirus in Hubei province and especially Wuhan to obtain treatment, improve recovery rates and reduce fatalities.

Participants at the meeting of the leading group of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on coping with the outbreak reiterated that helping Hubei and its provincial capital, the epicenter of the outbreak, are top priorities in curbing the contagion.

Participants a meeting chaired by Premier Li reiterated that helping Hubei and its provincial capital are top priorities in curbing the contagion

ALSO READ: Li urges vaccine, medicine development against epidemic

As of Monday, the number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus rose to 20,438 on the Chinese mainland, including 425 deaths, with 2,788 people in critical condition. Hubei province alone reported 13,522 infections with 414 deaths.

The government will requisition a number of hotels and other venues for purposes of receiving and treating patients with mild symptoms or for medical observation of close contacts, according to a statement released after the meeting.

Some multi-specialty hospitals will be transformed into dedicated hospitals to receive infected people, and the government will build a number of makeshift hospitals and assign another 2,000 medical workers to support epidemic control and prevention efforts in Hubei, according to the statement.

READ MORE: Quick-built hospital in Wuhan starts to treat patients

Authorities will send more high-caliber medical teams to take over hospitals or inpatient wards that receive critically ill patients, according to the statement.

Medical treatment at the primary level will be bolstered, and medical workers will be granted more rest to protect their physical and mental health, according to the statement.

The meeting also highlighted the need to boost the diagnostic test capacity in Wuhan to reduce testing times, with measures to allow for eligible third-party institutions to conduct nucleic acid tests.

It also called for further refining of diagnostic and treatment methods so that therapies already proved effective can be included in standard medical procedures.

ALSO READ: Hubei governor calls for faster diagnoses

Participants at the meeting also called for resolute steps to concentrate treatment and protection resources at the outbreak's front line, saying that the supply of key necessities must be ensured.

Producers of protective gowns and surgical masks were urged to return to maximum production capacity as soon as possible and to further expand their production capacity, according to the statement, which added that imported medical resources that comply with related standards must be put to use as soon as possible.

The meeting also underlined the importance of coordinating key businesses, especially central State-owned enterprises, to step up their production of key items.

READ MORE: Suppliers working hard to stay ahead of outbreak

Transport networks must be unimpeded to improve the efficiency of resource distribution and ensure market supply, according to the statement.

The meeting called for the State Council's mechanism for coordinated control and prevention to be refined to better manage the supply and demand balance of medical resources and ensure better coordinated distribution of key resources on a daily basis.

The transport network must be better coordinated to reduce travel congestion after the Spring Festival holiday, according to the statement.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn

Share this story

CHINA DAILY
HONG KONG NEWS
OPEN
Please click in the upper right corner to open it in your browser !