WUHAN — Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province plans to convert another eight existing venues, including gymnasiums, exhibition centers and sports centers, into hospitals to receive patients infected with the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), local authorities said on Feb 4.

Wuhan first converted three venues into hospitals on Feb 3, with a total of about 3,400 beds.

So far, Wuhan has converted 11 venues into makeshift hospitals, with a total of over 10,000 beds. The conversion work on the 11 hospitals is expected to be completed on Feb 5.

The sites, located in different districts of the city, will take in patients with mild symptoms caused by the coronavirus.

The city had previously planned two makeshift hospitals, Huoshenshan and Leishenshan, with 2,600 beds in total for the treatment of the patients infected with the virus. Huoshenshan has been completed, and Leishenshan is under construction.