Recovery times speeding up for COVID-19 patients at makeshift hospitals
The first group of recovered COVID-19 patients are discharged from a makeshift hospital in Putuo District.
COVID-19 patients spend about a week on average at local makeshift hospitals before fully recovering, according to the Shanghai Health Commission.
The makeshift hospitals, which primarily treat asymptomatic and mild cases of the virus, provide health observation and treatments to relieve symptoms, along with traditional Chinese medicine to shorten recovery periods, said Wu Qianyu, a senior official with the health commission.
"The average hospitalization period has been shortened to about a week, although it depends on immunity differences and underlying diseases," Wu said at the daily COVID-19 press briefing.
COVID-19 patients are discharged from designated and makeshift hospitals after testing negative twice with at least a 24-hour interval and being cleared by doctors, Wu said.
All patients receive daily PCR testing beginning a day after they're admitted.
A total of 334 people were discharged from local designated hospitals on Tuesday, along with 6,044 patients who completed medical observation at makeshift hospitals and returned to their homes for additional health observation.
Wu asked local district, subdistrict and town governments to streamline the transportation process, as an increasing number of patients are being discharged upon recovery.
Additional nucleic acid tests and antigen self-tests will be given in Shanghai to block transmission of the virus.
More than 9 million local residents received PCR tests on Tuesday, while close to 11 million took antigen self-tests. People who test positive are retested, according to Wu.
