The construction of three mobile cabin hospitals in Wuhan, Hubei province has picked up steam on Monday night. The city will make use of its sports stadium and two convention centers, and renovate them into three mobile hospitals to offer a total of 3800 beds to treat novel coronavirus infected patients with mild symptoms. The temporary hospitals will be equipped with beddings, tables and chairs, electric blankets and other essentials. Medical staff will be dispatched to the three hospitals to take care of patients who test positive for the virus — but show no severe symptoms — as soon as they are completed. Once a patient's symptoms worsen, he or she will be transferred to Jinyintan Hospital, one of the city's designated hospitals to admit patients infected with the virus, in a timely manner. Wuhan has decided to convert 11 venues, including gymnasiums, exhibition centers and sports centers, into makeshift hospitals, which can provide a total of over 10,000 beds. "Putting into operation temporary hospitals with a large number of beds inside a giant space is a major public health measure China has taken," said Wang Chen, a renowned respiratory expert and president of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. "It is a key measure taken by the authorities at a critical time," said Wang. "Unlike field hospitals during wartime or quake-relief efforts, the makeshift hospitals in Wuhan are unprecedented in China." Wang said the new measure is specifically designed to address the pressing issue of virus transmission in households and communities. "If a large number of patients with mild symptoms live at home or suspected patients roam around in the community, they will become the main source to spread the virus," Wang said. Moreover, as hospital beds are in short supply, their lives could be in danger if they are not effectively treated, the expert added.