China has built a massive COVID-19 quarantine centre that can house more than 4,000 patients as the country battles more cases of infections.
The quarantine camp is located on the outskirts of Shijiazhuang, the provincial capital of Hebei province, which is currently experiencing a surge in infections.
In an effort to contain the outbreak, the Chinese authorities had placed Shijiazhuang under lockdown on January 8, with all residents barred from leaving the city.
More than 20,000 residents of villages in the surrounding Hebei province have also been sent into quarantine in centralised facilities while mass testing is ongoing.
The new isolation camp covers 108 acres and is expected to have enough rooms to hold more than 4,000 suspected COVID-19 patients once it is completed.
According to China Central Television (CCTV), the construction of the buildings began on January 13 and the first section of the camp is now complete and ready for use, while construction continues on the second phase.
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The new quarantine buildings are equipped with en suite bathrooms, Wi-fi and air conditioning and will house close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 patients.
Meng Xianghong, deputy mayor of Shijiazhuang, was quoted as saying “more than 4,000 construction workers performed six days and nights’ work to complete the first phase”.
“Each prefabricated room is expected to measure 18 square meters (around 194 square feet), and will come with an en-suite bathroom and shower, desks, chairs, beds, Wi-Fi, and a television set.”
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China is on high alert for a potential wave of cases that could be triggered by the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday when thousands of people are expected to travel to visit family members.
Last February, the Chinese authorities built a 1000-bed capacity hospital for COVID-19 patients in Wuhan–city where the pandemic began– within 10 days.
As of Wednesday evening, 88, 557 confirmed cases had been recorded in the country with 4,635 deaths.
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