crown

Subscribe Now

FOLLOW US

Sign in

Photos: In one Wuhan hospital, long lines, fear and frustration

Wuhan has been under a virtual lockdown for days, with transport suspended and citizens told to stay home due the spread of the new coronavirus. The virus so far has killed 132 people in China, with the confirmed total of infections now nearly 6,000. Hospitals are struggling to cope with crowds who may be infected by the new virus. Faced with a congested medical system, authorities are racing to build two hospitals of over a thousand beds each within two weeks with and deployment of hundreds of medical reinforcements in the city.

Updated on: Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM IST

Share via

Copy link

1/7

A medical staff member (C) wearing protective clothing seen at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan. Overwhelmed staff, patients waiting for hours to see a doctor, people fending for themselves: Wuhan residents describe scenes of chaos from one swamped hospital struggling to cope with crowds who may be infected by the new coronavirus. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

A medical staff member (C) wearing protective clothing seen at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan. Overwhelmed staff, patients waiting for hours to see a doctor, people fending for themselves: Wuhan residents describe scenes of chaos from one swamped hospital struggling to cope with crowds who may be infected by the new coronavirus. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

2/7

The city of 11 million is the epicentre of the new SARS-like epidemic and has been in quarantine since Thursday—with nobody allowed to leave as the government tries to contain its spread. At one Wuhan hospital AFP visited, there were long queues of sick patients, many coughing, with overwhelmed staff unable to process them quickly. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

The city of 11 million is the epicentre of the new SARS-like epidemic and has been in quarantine since Thursday—with nobody allowed to leave as the government tries to contain its spread. At one Wuhan hospital AFP visited, there were long queues of sick patients, many coughing, with overwhelmed staff unable to process them quickly. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

3/7

Many people carried their own plastic stools to sit on, while one pragmatic man had brought a lounge chair with him. Volunteers were taking patients to the hospital on Sunday after cars were ordered off the road. Authorised neighbourhood committees were transporting patients instead. “There are no cars, so we are responsible for taking them there,” said one volunteer, 40-year-old Yin Yu. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

Many people carried their own plastic stools to sit on, while one pragmatic man had brought a lounge chair with him. Volunteers were taking patients to the hospital on Sunday after cars were ordered off the road. Authorised neighbourhood committees were transporting patients instead. “There are no cars, so we are responsible for taking them there,” said one volunteer, 40-year-old Yin Yu. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

4/7

Outside the Red Cross facility—which is one of the hospitals people are sent to for initial tests if they show signs of infection—patients told AFP they felt exasperated and helpless.“It has been two days since I slept, and I have been wandering from hospital to hospital,” said a man in his 30s, who was trying to see a doctor because he was worried he might be infected. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

Outside the Red Cross facility—which is one of the hospitals people are sent to for initial tests if they show signs of infection—patients told AFP they felt exasperated and helpless.“It has been two days since I slept, and I have been wandering from hospital to hospital,” said a man in his 30s, who was trying to see a doctor because he was worried he might be infected. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

5/7

Nearly 2,000 people have been infected across the country and 56 have died—mostly in Hubei. Those who spoke to AFP told of extremely long queues and disorganisation.One spoke of a fear that sick patients with fevers will infect each other while waiting in long queues, even if they didn’t have the coronavirus when they first arrived at the hospital. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

Nearly 2,000 people have been infected across the country and 56 have died—mostly in Hubei. Those who spoke to AFP told of extremely long queues and disorganisation.One spoke of a fear that sick patients with fevers will infect each other while waiting in long queues, even if they didn’t have the coronavirus when they first arrived at the hospital. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

6/7

The health crisis struck just before the Lunar New Year—the most important date of the Chinese calendar, when millions of workers travel across the country to visit family—putting more pressure on the understaffed hospital. “It takes at least five hours to see a doctor,” one woman, who didn’t want to be named, told AFP. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

The health crisis struck just before the Lunar New Year—the most important date of the Chinese calendar, when millions of workers travel across the country to visit family—putting more pressure on the understaffed hospital. “It takes at least five hours to see a doctor,” one woman, who didn’t want to be named, told AFP. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

7/7

Faced with a congested medical system, authorities are racing to build two hospitals of over a thousand beds each within two weeks, and deployed hundreds of medical reinforcements to Wuhan. The vast majority of cases have been reported in Hubei, and several Wuhan residents said they think the figure is far below the real number.One person said there were “many deaths” in the hospital, and he did not believe the bodies were properly removed. “It was like a horror movie,” he said. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Updated on Jan 29, 2020 5:50 PM

Faced with a congested medical system, authorities are racing to build two hospitals of over a thousand beds each within two weeks, and deployed hundreds of medical reinforcements to Wuhan. The vast majority of cases have been reported in Hubei, and several Wuhan residents said they think the figure is far below the real number.One person said there were “many deaths” in the hospital, and he did not believe the bodies were properly removed. “It was like a horror movie,” he said. (Hector RETAMAL / AFP)

Related Photos

Home/Photos/News/Photos: In One Wuhan Hospital, Long Lines, Fear And Frustration

© 2026 HindustanTimes