Economic Daily:
Amid the battle against the COVID-19 outbreak, the people's armed forces have given the people a sense of security. You just said that the armed forces have dispatched more than 4,000 healthcare professionals in three batches to support Wuhan in the fight against the virus outbreak. Could you please elaborate on where they have come from and what they have been doing so far? Thank you.
Zhao Haifei:
Under the command of Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping, on the night of Jan. 24, the Chinese New Year's Eve, a total of 450 medics from three military medical universities of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the PLA were rapidly dispatched to support Wuhan. The three medical teams, each consisting of 150 medical personnel, traveled to Wuhan from Chongqing, Shanghai and Xi'an to treat locally confirmed COVID-19 patients. Later, another 950 medical personnel were dispatched to Wuhan from hospitals affiliated to the Joint Logistic Support Force. Starting from Feb. 3, they were tasked with treating confirmed patients in Huoshenshan Hospital, together with the 450 medics who were previously sent to Wuhan.
In the face of the developing epidemic, a total of 2,600 additional medical personnel from the armed forces have been dispatched to Wuhan since Feb. 13. Those reinforcement medics come from healthcare institutions affiliated with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force and Joint Logistic Support Force, as well as the Chinese People's Armed Police Force. They have followed the operation model of Huoshenshan Hospital and been tasked with treating confirmed patients in Taikang Tongji Hospital and the Guanggu branch of Hubei Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital. Most of the three batches of military medical workers are professionals in departments of infectious disease, respiratory medicine and critical care medicine. Among them, many participated in the fight against SARS in Xiaotangshan Hospital in Beijing or in the anti-Ebola missions in Sierra Leone and Liberia, so they have rich experience in treating infectious diseases and are capable of conducting their mission effectively. Thank you.
CRNTT:
As the military medical teams have been in charge of Huoshenshan Hospital for a while now, how is the hospital running? How many COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized there? What treatments have you adopted and how many recovered patients have been discharged from the hospital? Thank you.
Chen Jingyuan:
All systems of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan are running well. With 33 measures adopted to regulate medical treatment, nursing and safeguards, the hospital has seen increases in its admission and recovery rates, as well as declines in infections and mortality cases. Through the use of scientific approaches, experts and learning – especially from the experience accumulated in curing patients – we have improved our diagnosis and treatment plan using individualized and targeted treatment for different patients depending on their conditions. A diagnosis and treatment model has been developed combining Western and traditional Chinese medicines, nutritional therapies, psychological consultation and recuperation training. A 5G-powered remote diagnosis and consultation system between the temporary hospital and the Chinese PLA General Hospital has been implemented to enable experts involved to study, discuss and assess the condition of every single patient before designing targeted treatment methods.
As of yesterday, Mar. 1, a total of 1,597 COVID-19 patients have been admitted to the hospital and 611 of them have been discharged after recovering. The hospital has continued to increase its admission of patients in severe condition. In addition to the two severe case wards, access to the general wards has also been opened to seriously ill patients. Thank you.
