Patients at Wuhan's temporary cabin hospitals have been trying to make the best of a bad situation and entertain themselves while receiving treatment.

A picture showing a young man reading Francis Fukuyama's The Origins of Political Order while resting at the Jianghan cabin hospital received widespread praise on social media platforms, with netizens nicknaming him "calm man" and "reading man".

Reading is a portable mini-sanctuary, one netizen said. Another commented: "Hope the epidemic will die down before you finish the book."

The man, surnamed Fu, told local newspaper Chutian Metropolis Daily he is a teacher at Florida State University in the United States.

Fu came to Wuhan to visit his parents, who are also infected with the novel coronavirus, he was quoted as saying. He was transferred to the cabin hospital on Feb 5 and feels okay, he said.

"I love reading and I did not expect to become popular online. I hope people will focus more on medical workers who have been working very hard to treat patients," he said.

A video clip of patients square dancing at the hospital also went viral online.

The woman who recorded the video, surnamed He, told ThePaper.cn she was transferred to the hospital on Feb 6 and has been posting pictures of her life at the hospital on her WeChat moments.

"I saw some patients start to dance at the hospital and I also started to record me dancing and post the videos online," she was quoted as saying.

"We are all victims of the virus, but we are still full of hope and love for life," she said. "I try to only convey positive attitudes to my family when we video chat every day, and I tell my child I will come home very soon."