Hubei's Party chief: No patients will be left out

Lab workers categorize samples awaiting nucleic acid tests for the novel coronavirus at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Thursday. (JIN ZHENQIANG/FOR CHINA DAILY)

All confirmed and suspected patients infected with novel coronavirus will receive treatment to make sure no patient is left out, said Jiang Chaoliang, Party chief of Hubei province.

On Sunday, Jiang contacted all epidemic control headquarters in Wuhan's districts and urged all confirmed and suspected patients to be treated in hospitals, especially those suspected of being critically ill, to clear the number of untreated patients who are at home.

Data including the number of patients, hospital beds and patients treated at makeshift hospitals should be updated in a timely manner, and all measures should continue to be refined to improve the efficiency of treatment, he added.

Epidemic control headquarters should further increase their mobilization efforts and do everything they can to help all hospitals open more beds, he said, adding that the municipal headquarters also need to strengthen guidance and overall planning to help solve difficulties during treatment.

Since Sunday morning, Wuhan has carried out comprehensive work in more than 1,100 communities to identify confirmed patients, suspected patients, residents with fever and those who had close contacts with infected people.

Community workers would then make sure all confirmed and suspected patients are sent to hospitals for treatment, quarantine or nucleic acid tests－a diagnostic method for the novel coronavirus－according to their conditions.

Ma Guoqiang, Party chief of Wuhan, said on Monday there were 1,499 confirmed coronavirus pneumonia patients with serious conditions who had not received treatment at hospital by Saturday after a citywide check. They were all admitted into hospitals by noon on Monday, he said. He also said tests and diagnoses of all suspected cases in the city are expected to be completed on Tuesday.

Mi Feng, spokesman of the National Heath Commission, said on Monday that the recovery rate of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan and across China has risen significantly, according to data analysis.

The recovery rate across the country was 8.2 percent, compared with 1.3 percent on Jan 27.

The recovery rate in Hubei province reached 6.1 percent from 1.7 percent on Jan 27, and the rate in Wuhan rose to 6.2 percent from 2.6 percent on Jan 27, he added.

"It shows medical treatment across the country has been effective," he said.

He added that with medical support strengthened and the adoption of various measures to increase the number of beds for patients, the treatment capacity in Hubei and Wuhan has also been significantly improved.

On Sunday, more than 6,200 medical workers from over 10 provinces, including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong and Liaoning, arrived in Wuhan to offer support.

It was not the first time that these provinces sent help to Wuhan. Jiangsu, for example, sent its fifth batch of 958 medical workers, which was nearly twice the size of the four previous batches.