COVID-19 treatment capability in NE China's border city further improved

The medical treatment capability in Suifenhe, the city facing growing pressure from imported COVID-19 cases at the China-Russia border in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has been further improved after more medical teams and resources were sent there, local authorities said Tuesday.

A mobile negative pressure lab set up by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention was put into operation on Monday in Suifenhe, raising the city's daily nucleic acid testing capability to 1,000, said the information office of the provincial government at a press conference.

Suifenhe had reported a total of 322 confirmed COVID-19 cases from overseas and 38 asymptomatic infections by Monday. The first imported asymptomatic case in the city has turned negative according to nucleic acid test results.

After constructing and reconstructing a batch of makeshift hospitals and designated hospitals in Suifenhe, which is under the jurisdiction of the city of Mudanjiang, Mudanjiang has a total of 1,230 hospital beds. All the COVID-19 patients should be timely received and treated, said local authorities.

At present, a total of 289 medical workers, including 29 national-level and 260 provincial- and municipal-level medics, have been dispatched to help Suifenhe fight against the epidemic. Around 1,500 medical staff in the province are ready to aid designated hospitals in Suifenhe.

Meanwhile, 15 negative pressure ambulances and 3,408 sets of medical equipment were also mobilized, said local authorities.