Study backs government decision to rush medical support to Wuhan

The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus and resultant deaths would have increased by 45 percent and 567 percent in Wuhan if the government had only implemented movement control but no medical support from around the nation.

That is the conclusion of a study based on medical research through machine learning and mathematical model-based analysis.

The research conducted by experts from Shanghai Children’s Medical Center and Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Center studied the influence of the coronavirus on medical services in leading cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and the restoration of operation.

Experts concluded that sending medics to Wuhan greatly improved clinical capability in the former epicenter and prevented the spread of virus as well as improving treatment. 

The central government sent 346 teams with 42,600 medics from all over the country to Wuhan.

The coronavirus also affected the number of patients traveling to big cities for unrelated medical treatment. 

The research found the number of non-local inpatient hospitalizations decreased by 69.86 percent, 57.41 percent and 66.85 percent in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou during the epidemic, due to traffic control and epidemic prevention.

The huge unmet medical needs may result in a massive migration of patients and their families in coming months, bringing tremendous challenges for medical services and disease prevention authorities in major cities.