China’s First Coronavirus Hospital Operational After 48 Hours Of Construction

China has opened its first coronavirus hospital after about 500 workers and volunteers spent just 48 hours converting an empty building.

Two pop-up hospitals are currently being built from scratch to treat patients with the SARS-like virus that has killed more than 130 people in the country.

The first hospital, called the Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre, opened with 1,000 beds in a disused building in Huanggang on Tuesday night.

It is expected to relieve some of the pressure on doctors and nurses in Hubei province – the epicentre of the outbreak – where overwhelmed hospitals were running out of beds, masks and other supplies as they were inundated with patients.

Hundreds of workers are racing to build a second hospital, called Huoshenshan or Fire God Mountain Hospital, from scratch.

Teams are aiming to finish the 1,000-bed facility, which covers six acres in suburban Wuhan, in less than two weeks, with the first patients expected to arrive on February 3.
A third hospital, also being built from scratch, is due to open on February 5 and there are plans for a fourth.

The third facility is called Leishenshan, or the Thunder God Mountain Hospital.
It is also located in Wuhan, the city of 11million where the flu-like virus is believed to have spread to humans at a live wild animal market.

That 60,000-square metre (14-acre) facility will have 1,600 beds – 300 more than originally planned – and dormitories for more than 2,000 medical staff.