What’s new: The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou is closing most of the city’s makeshift hospitals called “Fangcang,” built primarily to isolate Covid patients, after authorities switched their focus to improving their medical capacity following a major easing of virus restrictions.
A local hospital staff member told Caixin that the remaining Fangcang hospitals will be turned into “sub-designated” hospitals, used primarily for treating two types of Covid patients — those with moderate symptoms and seniors with no or mild symptoms who also have underlying conditions such as heart disease or tumors but are in stable condition.
The soon-to-be converted facilities will account for about a quarter of the city’s total number of Fangcang hospitals, Caixin has learned. Currently, the Pazhou Facang in Haizhu district has been closed. The site was converted from a part of the exhibition center that usually hosts China’s largest biannual trade fair — the Canton Fair. Some makeshift hospitals in other districts will also be handed back to local governments.
The background: Fangcang hospitals were first built during the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan nearly three years ago, before being widely adopted across the country to curb the spread of the virus. During the height of Guangzhou’s latest outbreak that started on Oct. 22, the city put at least 23 such hospitals into use, providing more than 80,000 beds for patients with no or mild symptoms.
The move to phase out these hospitals comes after the State Council issued a 10-point plan last week that allows some infected people to undergo quarantine in their homes rather than in centralized facilities. On Friday, the National Health Commission said Fangcang in relatively large cities will be upgraded to “sub-designated” hospitals, where 10% of each facility’s beds will be used as special observation beds.
Contact reporter Wang Xintong (xintongwang@caixin.com) and editor Bertrand Teo (bertrandteo@caixin.com)
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