BEIJING — China's medical insurance organs have allocated 17.179 billion yuan ($2.45 billion) of funds for medical institutions dedicated to treating novel coronavirus (COVID-19)patients as of Feb 19.

A total of 3.016 billion yuan of funds has been earmarked for Hubei province and 902 million yuan for its capital city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Xiong Xianjun, an official with the National Healthcare Security Administration, said at a press conference on Feb 20 in Beijing.

The funds, intended to relieve financial pressures on medical institutions, can meet the current demands for treating the disease, said Xiong.