In a dramatic sign that the coronavirus crisis is improving in China, the last two of 16 temporary hospitals in the epicentre city of Wuhan have been shut down, according to a report.
The final group of 49 patients walked out of the Wuchang temporary hospital in the capital of Hubei province on Tuesday afternoon to cheers, according to the Xinhua news agency.
The 784-bed facility – which was converted from Wuchang Hongshan Stadium – opened Feb. 5 and received a total of 1,124 patients, according to the news outlet, which said 833 were discharged and 291 were transferred to other hospitals.
Meanwhile, a makeshift hospital in Wuhan’s Jiangxia District also was shuttered Thursday after 26 days of operation, Xinhua reported. It had received a total of 564 patients, 392 of whom were discharged after recovering.
Zhang Boli, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said the 16 temporary hospitals had received a total of 13,000 coronavirus patients.
Despite the closures, Wuhan – a city of 11 million – remains under lockdown after more than 50 days.
On Tuesday, President Xi Jinping made a high-profile visit to the stricken city, his first since the outbreak began.
Almost 50,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in Wuhan, with 2,423 deaths. (AFP)
