China to build second hospital in Wuhan amid rising death toll

China has announced that it will build a second hospital for the treatment of patients infected by the deadly coronavirus, Chinese state media reported. This announcement comes days after authorities announced that a hospital will be built in Wuhan for the treatment. 

Will have 1,300 beds

According to media reports, the second hospital would have the capacity of 1,300 beds as compared to the 1,000 beds already in the first hospital. It added that the hospital which is being built in Wuhan is scheduled to complete in half a month. 

Meanwhile, the construction of the first hospital has started. All the building machinery including the 35 diggers and 10 bulldozers arrived at the site on Thursday night, with the aim to get the new facility ready by next Monday, media reported. The hospital will be erected on a 25,000-square-metre lot and is scheduled for completion by February 3, the municipal corporation said. 

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The new hospital is being built around a holiday complex which was originally intended for local workers on the outskirts of the city. Earlier today, China State Construction Engineering, one of the companies building the hospital, said that it was doing all it could to play its part adding that it already had more than 100 workers on site. The style of the facility is similar to one constructed in Beijing during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak of 2003. 

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Also, China has expanded its travel ban to a total of 13 cities stepping up in its efforts to curb the deadly coronavirus, international media reported. The deadly infection has killed 41 people and infected more than 1000 people. As of Saturday, Chinese officials have placed a ban on 13 cities, out of which 12 are in Hubei Province. The ban has also restricted the travel of many as 56 million people amid constant fears that transmission rate will accelerate due to increased travel during the Lunar New Year.