Medical shortages raised toll

Wuhan higher mortality rate due to paucity of healthcare specialists, top health body says

The mortality rate for known cases of the novel coronavirus is significantly higher in Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, than other parts of the country－a gap that health officials and experts are racing to close by ramping up medical assistance and enhancing the region's critical care capability.

Based on existing data of the epidemic, the mortality rate－total deaths divided by the number of confirmed cases－is at 2.1 percent on the Chinese mainland, down from 2.3 percent at the onset of the outbreak, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday.

In Hubei province, the mortality rate averages 3.1 percent, while in Wuhan, the provincial capital, where the infection first surfaced, it is estimated to be around 4.9 percent, according to the commission.

After excluding infections and fatalities reported in Hubei, the death rate in 30 other provincial-level regions on the mainland dropped to 0.16 percent, according to Jiao Yahui, deputy chief of the commission's medical administration and supervision department.

A dire shortage of intensive care specialists and hospital beds has contributed to the higher odds of death in Wuhan, Jiao said.

"The three hospitals designated to receive infected patients in severe condition house a total of 110 beds in the intensive care units, which is far from meeting the demand," she said.

The remaining seriously ill patients were admitted in about 20 medical institutions across the city and they might not have received professional care from the intensive care staff, Jiao said.

"The loose distribution has also weakened the city's healthcare capability to rescue critically ill patients."

Addressing shortage

To address the shortage, the commission recently identified three other hospitals in Wuhan to focus on treating severe cases. They are designed to accommodate 1,000 patients.

About 3,000 doctors and nurses specializing in intensive care will be deployed to take charge of wards for receiving patients in a serious condition, according to the commission.

"A new team composed of presidents or leading Party officials of 16 hospitals across the country has also gathered and is on standby, intended to improve management of intensive care units in Wuhan and bring down the death rate in the city," Jiao said.

Li Lanjuan, a member of the commission's senior-level expert panel based in Zhejiang province, also said during an interview with the China Central Television on Monday night that as the outbreak is nearing its peak, the rising caseload is straining the already overburdened medical institutions in Hubei, leading to a shortage of medics capable of focusing on the critically ill patients.

"In Hubei province, particularly Wuhan city, one doctor could be under great pressure to monitor several patients, while in other regions, a handful of doctors are able to focus on one patient," she said.

Official figures released on Tuesday morning shows that the number of confirmed cases in Hubei rose by 2,345 on Monday, including 1,242 new cases in Wuhan, to 13,522.

The death toll in the region went up by 64 to 414 on Monday. Wuhan alone recorded 48 new fatalities on Monday, according to the provincial health commission.

Li added, "With the outpouring of medical assistance and advanced therapies destined for Wuhan, it is very promising that the disease will be contained and the death rate will be pushed down."

Lethality not intimidating

Though much remains unknown about the novel coronavirus, medical experts have largely agreed its lethality is not as intimidating as other pathogens from the same family.

In contrast, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome killed about 9.6 percent of those infected by the virus, while the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, which still sees isolated cases cropping up, kills about one in three, according to the World Health Organization.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also said in an online daily news conference on Tuesday that the mortality rate of the novel coronavirus infections in China is far lower than that of the H1N1 flu that broke out in the United States in 2009, MERS or Ebola outbreak of Africa.

She reiterated China's opposition to unreasonably strong reactions to the epidemic, but said joint global efforts are needed globally to overcome the epidemic.

According to Jiao, from the National Health Commission, 80 percent of deaths in the latest outbreak occurred among those above 60 years, and 75 percent of the deceased were previously suffering from underlying illnesses.

"Most infections are benign," she said. "Thus, there is no need to panic."

Li Xinwang, head of Beijing Ditan Hospital's center for infectious diseases, said as research into effective antiviral drugs is underway, consistent life support and respiratory assistance is crucial to patients during the treatment.

"It is essential to centralize the treatment of severe patients and set up teams devoted to intensive care units," he said.

Zhou Lihua and Liu Kun in Wuhan, and Wang Qingyun in Beijing contributed to this story.