30% to 39% of severe COVID-19 patients discharged from Wuhan hospitals

Up to 30 to 39 percent of patients infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been discharged from two of Wuhan's hospitals that take in severe patients, including the Jinyintan Hospital, the National Health Commission (NHC) said Saturday.

For severe and critically ill patients, antivirus treatment, together with treatment combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine and supportive treatments, such as the use of ventilator, blood plasma from recovered patients and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), have shown effect, Jiao Yahui, an official with the NHC, said at a press conference in Wuhan, epicenter of the outbreak.

"Recently, we have been urging doctors to use ECMO at an early stage to help restore patients' blood oxygen saturation and reduce fatalities," Jiao said.