China building 1,000-bed hospital over the weekend to treat coronavirus

A man holding an umbrella walks past excavators at the construction site where the new hospital is being built to treat patients of a new coronavirus following the outbreak and the city’s lockdown, on the outskirts of Wuhan, China January 24, 2020. [cnsphoto via REUTERS]

The Chinese city of Wuhan is rapidly building a new 1,000-bed hospital to treat victims of a new coronavirus, mobilizing machinery to get it ready by early next week, state media said. 

The virus has killed 25 people in China and infected more than 800, the government said on Friday, as the World Health Organisation declared it an emergency but stopped short of declaring the epidemic of international concern.