Official: COVID-19 patients usually spend a week in makeshift hospitals

COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms and asymptomatic individuals usually spend on average a week in makeshift hospitals, a senior health official in the city said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

The city currently has more than 100 makeshift hospitals, or fangcang, for these two groups of people, said Wu Qianyu, an inspector with the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission.

These individuals undergo nucleic acid tests once daily, starting a day after they are admitted, and are eligible for discharge should the results of two tests, taken at least 24 hours apart, return negative.

Wu noted that authorities are looking to speed up the discharge of patients at makeshift hospitals by enhancing coordination between the various parties involved in the process.

The city government announced on Wednesday that 334 COVID-19 cases and 6,044 asymptomatic infections were discharged from hospitals and released from medical observation after recovery on Tuesday.

Shanghai reported 26,330 local COVID-19 infections, including 1,189 confirmed cases, on Tuesday.