Spread of new coronavirus begins second wave of infection: Authorities

The spread of the coronavirus has begun its second wave of infection, deputy director of the Hubei provincial health commission Liu Dongru said on Friday.

He said the province now has a large number of fever patients in outpatient care, because the second wave of the coronavirus coincided with the peak season of regular diseases and influenza, causing a soaring number of fever patients.

In addition, a small number of patients are affected by false information and went to see doctors in a panic, he added.

Liu said more than 549 medical institutions in Hubei province, including 61 medical institutions in Wuhan, Hubei's capital city and the epicenter of the disease, have set up fever clinics. This includes all township health centers.

All health service centers in Wuhan have fever clinics which can conduct screening and differential diagnosis of fever patients, he said, adding if the cause of the fever cannot be determined, patients must be referred to designated hospitals for further diagnosis.

Liu added in response to current difficulties fever patients are having seeing a doctor, authorities have strengthened early warning mechanisms and increased technical force to ensure the level of differential diagnosis improves during the triage process.

They have asked all hospitals capable of conducting polymerase chain reaction tests - a technique to analyze a short sequence of DNA enabling early detection of infections - to confirm the new coronavirus cases based on the results of pathogenic testing to reduce the flow of patients and improve effectiveness in early detection, diagnosis, quarantine and treatment.

Wuhan has designated 15 hospitals to receive critical cases referred by other hospitals, Liu said, adding it is necessary for members of the public to identify false information to avoid unnecessary panic.

As of Friday afternoon, Hubei province has reported 549 confirmed cases of new coronavirus , with 31 cured and released from hospitals and 24 dead. Among the 494 patients currently being treated in the hospital, 106 are in severe condition and 23 are critically ill, the provincial health commission said.

They are all under quarantine, and 3,653 people who have been in close contract with patients have been treated. Of these, 2,776 are still under observation, the commission added.