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China commissoned a new, 1000-bed make-shift hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre for the novel coronavirus pandemic on 3 February 2020. Completed in a record span of ten days, the Huoshenshan hospital serves as a quarantine hospital designated to treat patients infected with the 2019-nCoV.
Equipped with safety and protective equipment, the Huoshenshan hospital will provide enhanced care to the patients. Approximately 1,400 medical staff from the armed forces have been deployed to treat the patients at the hospital.
The need for Huoshenshan hospital
All hospitals and clinics across the city of Wuhan, which has a population of 11 million, were flooded with concerned citizens and patients, while most people were turned away due to a shortage of personnel and resources.
Chinese authorities, therefore, decided to construct the new hospital for isolation of the infected on a war-footing to deal with the emergency. Construction of the new facility was commenced on 24 January 2020.
The National Health Commission of China has designated 10,000 beds across various hospitals to treat coronavirus patients. Approximately 5,300 beds will be added during the first phase, while another 6,000 will be added during the second phase.
Where’s Huoshenshan hospital located?
Huoshenshan hospital is located on the outskirts of the Wuhan city near holiday complex, Wuhan Workers’ Sanatorium, in the Caidian District in the western suburb.
The holiday complex was intended for local workers and is set in a garden and surrounded by the Zhiyin Lake.
Huoshenshan hospital facilities and construction
The Huoshenshan hospital covers an area of 34,000m² across two floors, comprising 20 blocks and featuring 1,000 beds. It was built using pre-fabricated modules assembled before arriving on-site to reduce the cost of construction, as well as completion time.
Construction equipment including 35 excavators and ten bulldozers were used for levelling the site to prepare for construction.
The design of the hospital is similar to that of the Xiaotangshan Hospital that was built in Beijing to tackle the 2003 SARS virus outbreak. Xiaotangshan Hospital was constructed within seven days, treating approximately one-seventh of the country’s SARS patients.
Contractors involved
Wuhan CITIC Design Institute, an architectural design institute, designed the Huoshenshan hospital.
Three companies namely Third Construction of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, China State Construction Engineering, and Wuhan Construction Engineering Group were involved in the construction of the hospital.
Belden, a networking, connectivity, and cable products supplier based in the US, donated cable and connectivity products to develop the networking systems of the new hospital. The products facilitate connectivity between various devices including computers, monitors, cameras, and phones.
Beijing GeoEnviron Engineering & Technology (BGE), an environmental remediation and waste treatment systems provider based in China, performed anti-seepage construction on the hospital site.
Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology, a waterproofing system provider, performed waterproof construction and supplied advanced materials.
Leishenshan and other hospitals for coronavirus treatment
A 1,000-bed hospital named Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre was opened on 29 January to treat coronavirus patients. The under-construction hospital was originally scheduled to be opened in May, but preponed given the health emergency. More than 500 construction workers were engaged to expedite the construction of the hospital.
A second quarantine hospital, Leishenshan, with 1,300 to 1,500 beds, was completed on 8 February and started accepting patients. Located near the Huangjia Lake in the Jiangxia District, the make-shift hospital covers an area of 30,000m² on a 21.9ha site. Construction of the hospital started on 26 January 2020.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission announced immediate plans to invest 300 million yuan ($43.5m) in the construction of hospitals in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
BGE and Oriental Yuhong are also involved in the construction of the Leishenshan hospital.
