Medics, supplies pour into epicenter of coronavirus outbreak

WUHAN - The airport in Wuhan, the hardest-hit city amid the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic, received nearly 6,000 medical personnel on Sunday, the highest-ever daily total, according to the airport.

The medical staff, totaling 5,787, flew from a dozen municipalities and provinces across China including Shanghai, Tianjin, Liaoning, Hebei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong, and began working in hospitals immediately after deplaning.

The Hubei Airport Group said Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has received 239 medical support charter flights and cargo flights from other Chinese provinces and countries such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Belarus since the citywide lockdown on Jan 24.

About 17,000 medical and related personnel, as well as 2,200 tonnes of medical supplies, landed in Wuhan during the period.

Statistics from the city's rail authority showed that 1,976 support staff from across China and nearly 8,500 tonnes of relief materials arrived in Wuhan by train as of last weekend.

In the meantime, 90 tonnes of Chinese yam, 90 tonnes of garlic, 60 tonnes of eggs and 35 tonnes of Chinese cabbage donated by the city of Heze in East China's Shandong province were shipped to a Wuhan port and distributed to local residents.

The city's rail-shipping combined transportation office said over 8,200 tonnes of relief supplies had arrived as of Feb 8.