China struggles to find beds in hospitals amid coronavirus spread

China on Thursday struggled to find bed space for patients infected by the deadly coronavirus in the country. As per media reports, a senior official said that Wuhan is struggling to accommodate patients infected by the virus as the city of 11 million people has only 8,254 beds in 28 hospitals in which 8,182 are already admitted. Wuhan is the epicentre of the contagious virus that has claimed more than 560 lives in China since the outbreak of the disease in December last year. 

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Chinese authorities had earlier issued a quarantine in 12 cities across the country to prevent the spread of the virus, 11 of which were in the Hubei province. The quarantine is restricting people from travelling to other areas for medical treatment. China, however, is handling the situation quite effectively as just recently the country built a hospital in a record time of just eight days to house the patients affected by the disease. According to Chinese state media, another hospital is being built in the Wuhan with a capacity of an estimated 1,600 beds. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

Thousands of people are reportedly stranded in Asian waters after two cruise ships reported cases of coronavirus on Wednesday. Cruise ships near Japan and Hong Kong were left anchored on the shores after their countries of origin placed a quarantine on the passengers and the crew members. 

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As per the US' Center for Disease Control and Prevention, so far confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 27 other countries. The disease is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Hubei's Wuhan city, where animals were being traded illegally. As per reports, countries like the United States and Saudi Arabia have taken drastic steps to prevent the spread of the virus in their country. Washington has restricted entry of foreign nationals coming from China, while the Saudi has barred its citizens and residents from travelling to the east-Asian country. 

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(Image credit: AP)