Hospitals act

In Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, major hospitals have opened "green channels" for pregnant women and patients with diseases other than COVID-19.

On April 12, Cao Xiaoting, 32, gave birth to a daughter by cesarean section in Guangzhou Baiyun District Maternal and Child Health Hospital.

Cao said she was sent to the hospital in a special ambulance after she dialed the local hotline for help on April 11. Arrangements were made for her to have the cesarean section the next day.

Ahead of giving birth, Cao had taken three nucleic acid tests.

"The cesarean section went well and I was satisfied with the arrangements made by the hospital and local government," Cao said.

Wang Xiaoyi, a gynecologist from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University in the city's Liwan district, said the hospital has helped more than a dozen women deliver babies in the latest COVID-19 outbreak.

"Pregnant women living in the city's lockdown areas and controlled zones have no need to be unduly worried. Government departments have taken measures to help them, and major hospitals have opened green channels for them and others in need," she said.

Yang Yanze, deputy head of Baiyun district, said that as of April 13, a total of 54 women from the controlled zones in the area had given birth without any problems during the latest outbreak.

Special task forces consisting of more than 130 medical workers, neighborhood staff members and volunteers have been formed to provide specialized help for pregnant women and others in need in the district's lockdown areas and controlled zones, which are home to more than 556,000 residents.

Meanwhile, 100 special ambulances are on standby in the lockdown areas and controlled zones to help take pregnant women and critically ill patients to hospitals when needed, Yang said at a news conference last week.

The lockdown areas and controlled zones in Baiyun house a total of more than 15,200 pregnant women, patients with chronic diseases, and senior residents living alone, Yang added.

In addition to green channels at major hospitals and online medical services, community clinics, neighborhood committees and volunteers provide door-to-door medicine delivery services to these special groups of residents in such areas, he said.

Meanwhile, two specialized psychological counseling hotlines have opened in Baiyun to help ease fears among residents affected by the pandemic, Yang added.

Wu Linbo, deputy secretary-general of the Guangzhou city government, said at a news conference last week that 889 people who are 80 or older, 374 patients with severe mental illness, 234 residents with chronic diseases, 1,584 pregnant women and 1,692 disabled people are living in the city's controlled zones.

"Government departments are required to ensure that medical services for these special groups remain intact," Wu said.