Critical Care Response to a Hospital Outbreak of the 2019-nCoV Infection in Shenzhen, China

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Beginning at early December 2019, there is an outbreak of a novel 2019-nCoV in Wuhan, China. Then, Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was declared on 30 January 2020, by the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Committee.

The 2019-nCoV pandemic could lead to an influx of critically ill into the already strained hospital systems in mainland China.

Dealing with the pandemic requires a robust hospital- and city-wide command and control structure that could make quick and informed decisions among Chinese hospitals.

We recommend that a proper plan can enable the local government, healthcare systems, hospitals, and healthcare workers to better cope with such public eventuality.

The response should be flexible and adjustable according to the size of the population impacted.

The main challenge may include early identification of outbreak, rapid expansion of patients, high risk of nosocomial transmission, unpredictability of size impacted, and lack of backup resource.

These challenges have caused severe shortage of healthcare workers, medical materials, and beds with isolation.

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