By Qiu Chaoyi, People’s Daily
A total of 10,844 patients infected with the novel coronavirus had been discharged from hospitals after recovery by the end of Feb. 16, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of China’s State Council announced at a press conference on Monday.
There were 7,264 suspected cases and 57,934 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection in 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as of Feb. 16, and 10,644 remained in severe and critical condition, according to statistics from National Health Commission (NHC).
China had received reports of a total of 70,548 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 1,770 deaths by the end of Feb. 16, the health authority added.
The number of the daily new confirmed cases outside Hubei province has been dropping for 13 consecutive days as of Feb. 16, and the number of the newly reported deaths also remained low.
On Feb.16, a total of 115 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection were reported in China outside Hubei.
So far, 29 provincial-level regions and armed forces in China have dispatched more than 30,000 medical staff to assist in the fight against the epidemic in the epicenter Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, introduced Guo Yanhong, an official with the NHC at the press conference.
About 11,000 specialists for intensive care have been sent to Wuhan as the city sees a large number of patients in severe and critical conditions, and the number makes up to approximately 10 percent of the country’s total number of intensive care medics, Guo noted.
Three top-level medical groups led by Chinese academicians, namely Zhong Nanshan, Li Lanjuan and Wang Chen, have also joined the fight at the frontline to explore new therapeutic schemes and technologies, Guo said.
Besides, a total of 22 national emergency medical rescue teams and three mobile P3 laboratories had gathered in the hard-hit city, the NHC official said.
More than 630 traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in 28 provinces have sent over 3,100 medical staff to assist Hubei with the fight against the novel coronavirus.
Traditional Chinese medicine has so far been applied to treat 60,107 patients of novel coronavirus infection, or 85.2 percent of the country’s confirmed cases. In areas outside Hubei, 87 percent of the patients who received traditional Chinese medicine treatment have been discharged from hospitals or seen improved conditions.
The average time from the onset of symptoms of the novel coronavirus to diagnosis has been shortened to 4.95 days in China, which has proven that early and timely treatment is an effective way to improve the recovery rate, Guo said.
