Chinese localities prepare for peak of COVID-19 infections in January

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

Multiple places across China are anticipating and getting prepared to cope with the peak of COVID-19 infections in January, as a travel rush during the Chinese New Year holidays is expected to speed up the spread of the virus, according to media reports on Sunday.   

Local authorities in East China's Zhejiang Province said on Sunday that the first COVID-19 flare-up may reach its peak in the province around mid-January, but an early arrival of the peak cannot be ruled out, citing several research models at home and abroad, yicai.com reported on Sunday. 

The epidemic prevention and control authorities in East China's Jiangxi Province on Thursday also predicted that the peak period of the next flare-up in the province will arrive between the end of December and early January, with the peak expected around the Chinese New Year holidays according to experts' analysis, yicai.com reported.

Multiple places, including East China's Shandong Province, Yichang in Central's China's Hubei Province and Cangnan county in East China's Zhejiang Province have also predicted their peak of COVID-19 infections to arrive next month, according to the report.

In January, a large number of people will travel from big cities to the countryside during the Spring Festival travel rush. Preparations for the peak of infections are also being stepped up across the country. 

According to Dong Liang, head of the medical treatment expert group of Shandong Province epidemic prevention and control headquarters, some makeshift hospitals have been transformed into sub-designated hospitals for treating patients with normal or severe symptoms in a bid to prevent a run on the healthcare system. 

Cangnan county in Zhejiang has been stepping up efforts to replenish and distribute all kinds of medical resources to get fully prepared for the potential impact. The county decided to recruit 200 nurses on Wednesday to further ensure the capacity of designated and sub-designated hospitals. 

At present, the number of intensive care beds at the Cangnan County People's Hospital accounts for more than eight percent of the total number of beds, according to media reports.