BEIJING — China's health authority required a prompt increase of designated hospitals for severe novel coronavirus pneumonia patients, and utmost efforts to improve the survival rates, an official said on Feb 4.

Up to three new hospitals for severe cases have been established to receive 1,000 patients in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which brought the number of such hospitals to six in the city, said Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC), at a press conference.

The NHC also organized more than 3,000 critical care personnel nationwide to treat severe cases in Wuhan, said Jiao, adding that management teams led by chiefs of 16 renowned hospitals across the country are ready to be dispatched to Hubei province.