BEIJING — Approved by Chairman of the Central Military Commission Xi Jinping, 1,400 medical staff from the armed forces are tasked with treating patients in Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan starting from Feb 3.

Huoshenshan Hospital, with a capacity of 1,000 beds, is a makeshift hospital dedicated to treating patients infected with the novel coronavirus.

The medics consist of 950 people from hospitals affiliated to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Joint Logistic Support Force, and 450 from medical universities of the army, navy and air force of the PLA who were sent to Wuhan earlier.

Meanwhile, a joint expert group of 15 people has also been set up to guide the hospital's epidemic prevention and control on the spot.

Among the military medical staff, many participated in the fight against SARS in Xiaotangshan Hospital in Beijing or in the anti-Ebola mission in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and have rich experience in treating infectious diseases.