Wuhan: Authorities in China have glorified the rush to build two infectious disease hospitals in a matter of days at the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has now claimed at least 490 lives on the mainland, with live streams showing the construction and the arrival of the first patients at Huoshenshan field hospital in Wuhan on Tuesday.
The 1,000-bed Huoshenshan, or Fire-God Mountain, hospital and the 1,600-bed Leishenshan, or Thunder God Mountain, hospital – which will start taking patients on Thursday – have been the main focus of attention for the country’s state-run media, with round-the-clock coverage.
Less known, however, are the other hospitals now under construction elsewhere in the country to address the shortage of beds and facilities needed to treat the outbreak.
Al Jazeera has been able to identify several that have broken ground in the past week as well as many more, from larger 1,000-bed facilities to smaller, 50-bed rural clinics, that are being planned or are already under construction.
Such was the case in Nantong, Jiangsu province, where two residents were arrested for “spreading rumours” about a new facility online. The local government, however, confirmed that a new hospital to treat coronavirus patients was under construction.
According to a statement from local police on February 4, a Mr Wang was arrested for saying the “facility would be used for coronavirus cases from all around Jiangsu” while a Ms Feng was arrested for collecting images and messages and circulating them on WeChat, China’s main social networking platform. Each was fined 500 yuan [$71] and jailed for five days.
