BEIJING — High-tech facilities including extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and mobile computed tomography (CT) machines are essential in treating COVID-19 patients, said a Chinese health official on March 4.

The ventilator and ECMO are used to support respiratory systems for severe patients, said Mao Qunan, head of the planning department of the National Health Commission (NHC) at a press conference.

It takes less than three minutes for patients in temporary hospitals to have a chest examination with mobile CT machines, and mobile P3 laboratories can provide instant nucleic acid detection for temporary hospitals, Mao said.

Noting that the supply and demand of medical devices have been in balance in virus-hit Hubei province, Mao said the NHC pays close attention to the needs of the frontline against COVID-19.

The NHC is planning for a long-term reserve of medical materials in joint efforts with other departments, Mao added.

China has sent 67 ECMO machines to Hubei, said Luo Junjie, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, adding that the ministry will import more ECMO machines for Hubei and Wuhan, the capital city of the province.