China has opened its first coronavirus hospital after around 500 workers and volunteers spent just 48 hours converting an empty building.
The medical building had been set to open in May, but following the deadly outbreak, it was all hands on deck to get it completed.
It now boasts 1,000-beds and the first batch of coronavirus patients were transferred at around 10.30pm last night.
The hospital, called the Dabie Mountain Regional Medical Centre, in Huanggang, also has water, electricity and internet.
It is expected to relieve some of the pressure on doctors and nurses in Hubei province – the epicentre of the outbreak – where overwhelmed hospitals were running out of beds, masks and other supplies as they were inundated with patients.
Teams are aiming to finish the 1,000-bed facility, which covers six acres in suburban Wuhan, in less than two weeks, with the first patients expected to arrive on February 3.
A third hospital, also being built from scratch, is due to open on February 5 and there are plans for a fourth.
The third facility is called Leishenshan, or the Thunder God Mountain Hospital.
