Beijing (AP) – A sprawling quarantine center with more than 4,000 rooms is being set up in Northern China in response to a COVID-19 outbreak in Shijiazhuang, a city of more than 10 million people in Hebei Province.
Satellite images from the European Space Agency show dramatic changes over 10 days in an area where there was only flat land before construction began on January 13.
Rows of prefabricated houses can be seen. According to the official People’s Daily newspaper, more than 600 rooms were ready by January 19.
Construction workers and materials have been sent from all over the country to help build the center, state media reported. It is common for China to mobilize resources across the country to deal with natural disasters and other crises.
Last year, in the city of Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first discovered, two hospitals, Huoshenshan and Leishenshan, were built within days to treat COVID-19 patients.
China has largely slowed the virus’s domestic spread, but is facing outbreaks in the icy north this winter. The National Health Commission reported 145 new cases in the past 24 hours on Monday, including 11 in Hubei province.
The quarantine center is intended to receive people who have been in contact with COVID-19 patients. Each room, for one person only, is 18 square meters (190 square feet) and comes with linens, a desk, an air conditioner, a TV and Wi-Fi, the China News Service reported.
It is located in Zhengding Province, a suburb of northern Shijiazhuang. The city, the capital of Hebei, is located about 260 kilometers (160 miles) southwest of Beijing.
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Associated Press news assistant Caroline Chen contributed to this report.