Makeshift hospital shutdown raises hope outbreak may soon be controlled

The first day of March brought with it a piece of good news in the battle against the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and the epicenter of the outbreak.

A makeshift hospital set up in Wuhan has closed as 34 novel coronavirus pneumonia patients being treated there have been discharged and 76 others have been transferred to another hospital. The discharged patients will be quarantined for 14 days at a designated place before they can go home.

The makeshift hospital became fully operational on Feb 11 and attended to 330 novel coronavirus pneumonia patients, including 232 who were discharged after being cured. It is the first makeshift hospital to be shutting down operations, marking a milestone in the fight against the virus. The hospital was set up in a former stadium to attend to a large number of patients. When cases began piling up in Wuhan, Wang Chen, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, proposed on Feb 1 building makeshift hospitals to attend to patients as soon as possible. The first batch of makeshift hospitals, with 4,000 beds, was set up in 29 hours and as early as Feb 11 patients were being discharged after treatment.

Such makeshift hospitals have played a crucial role in the fight against novel coronavirus, by allowing patients to be admitted and treated quickly at the earliest and curbing the spread of the virus.

Thanks to joint efforts by medical workers from across the country and the people of Wuhan, the outbreak has gradually been contained. More patients have been treated and discharged from makeshift and regular hospitals and quarantine spots, leaving behind empty beds in the absence of fresh cases. This has given rise to the hope that the fight against the virus will soon be won.

- WANG YIQING, CHINA DAILY