Bed and medical equipment preparation
WCH is a teaching hospital with 4300 total beds and 8 ICUs of total 206 ICU beds. Under normal conditions, the ICU bed usage is always above 90%. It was not appropriate to treat 2019-nCoV-infected patients in the central area because the large stream of people would have a negative impact on infection control measures to curb the spread of the infection. The hospital authorities decided to vacate 402 beds belonging to the Center of Infectious Disease and the adjacent Fifth Inpatient Building so that both are separated from the rest of the inpatient buildings in WCH (Supplementary Figure 1). Based on the initial data [1, 2] and taking into consideration the surge of critically ill patients, we plan to equip 50 ICU beds initially and adjust on the number of patients, as necessary. We made a list of requirements for other special medical equipment, such as ventilators, bronchoscopes, hemodialysis machines, ultrasound machines, standard personal protective equipment (PPE), and sterilizing equipment. During this epidemic period, a large amount of certified PPE, including medical masks, goggles, face shields, and waterproof isolation gowns, is required. Manufactures of the items on the requirement list were contracted and we drew up an advertisement to the society calling for donations to ensure sufficient supplies.