A transport aircraft of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force arrives at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Li He)
Chinese armed forces have been engaging in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), shouldering patient treatment and supporting the supply of medical and daily necessities in virus-hit Hubei Province in central China, military officials said Monday.
ASSISTANCE TO EPICENTER
The armed forces have dispatched over 4,000 medical professionals in three groups to assist with the battle against coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak and capital of Hubei, since Jan. 24, said Chen Jingyuan, health division director of the Logistic Support Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), at a press conference in Beijing.
"They have formed a relief force comprising a leading battlefront group, joint logistic support units and frontline medical worker units," said Chen.
The first group of 450 people left for Wuhan on Jan. 24, Chinese New Year's Eve, with the second group of 950 people leaving for Wuhan on Feb. 2, and the third group of 2,600 people leaving for Wuhan on Feb. 13, he said.
10,000 FRONTLINE MEDICS
Nearly 3,000 beds have been set up by 63 military hospitals designated to treat COVID-19 patients, with over 10,000 military medics working at the front line, Chen told the press conference.
As of Sunday, the designated hospitals of the armed forces and military medical teams dispatched to Hubei had treated 4,450 COVID-19 patients with 1,000 cured, he said.
Members of a military medical team take over the work from a medical worker at Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 26, 2020. (Xinhua/Cheng Min)
While sticking to scientific treatment, the military medics have attached importance to self-protection, with no infection found among them so far, Chen added.
Three military-led hospitals in Wuhan, capital of Hubei, had admitted 3,467 severe COVID-19 cases and cured 689 patients, said Chen.
SUPPORTING SUPPLIES IN WUHAN
As of Sunday, 260 troops and 130 transport vehicles from the Central Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) had been tasked with transporting 8,500 tonnes of household goods and 23,600 items covering protective materials and equipment to Wuhan.
Meanwhile, the Central Theater Command had sent helicopters to transfer 6.5 tonnes of medical supplies by Sunday, said Chen.
Earlier, the military's joint task force for responding to public health emergencies allocated 400,000 medical masks, 8,000 sets of protective clothing, 50 sets of positive pressure respiratory protective hoods and two sets of negative pressure isolation transfer cabins to Wuhan to provide urgent medical treatment, Chen said.
Moreover, the PLA Air Force deployed military aircraft including Y-20s to transport about 2,850 medics from the armed forces in different batches to Wuhan, said Zhang Tianxiang, head of the transport and delivery division of the Logistic Support Department of the CMC.
ADVANCING INT'L COOPERATION
The Chinese military will actively conduct international military cooperation and work with other countries' militaries to fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and other public security threats, said Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense.
Wu thanked countries and militaries that have offered China sincere help and support in the country's full-swing fight against COVID-19.
Wu said the strength, spirit and efficiency China has demonstrated in its COVID-19 prevention and control work have won widespread praise from the international community.
