Beijing Reports 114 New COVID-19 Cases... SARS Treatment Hospital Under Renovation

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) in Beijing increased to 114, the city government has begun establishing a specialized hospital for patient treatment.

Lei Haichao, director of the Beijing National Health Commission (NHC), announced at a press briefing on the 30th (local time) that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Beijing is 114, with one death. Excluding the four patients who have already recovered and the one deceased, 109 confirmed patients are currently isolated and receiving treatment at designated hospitals.

In Chaoyang-gu, where many Korean residents and Korean companies are concentrated, 21 confirmed cases have been reported, and in Haiding-gu, which has a dense population of university students including many international students, 24 confirmed cases have occurred.

Director Lei stated that renovation and repair work is currently underway at Xiaotangshan Hospital on the outskirts of Beijing.

Xiaotangshan Hospital was urgently constructed during the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) to treat SARS patients. From the end of April 2003, about 680 patients were treated there over approximately 50 days.

After the SARS epidemic subsided, Xiaotangshan Hospital was left abandoned for 17 years. Currently, public access is prohibited, and various abandoned facilities inside the building such as beds, chairs, sofas, display cases, and televisions are being moved outside. Workers are removing all internal pipes and wiring and conducting repair work to install new ones.

The reopening of Beijing's Xiaotangshan Hospital signifies a worsening of the novel coronavirus situation in Beijing, and it is interpreted that the government is securing medical facilities in advance to prepare for further spread.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.