Shanghai shuts down two leading hospitals due to virus patients

Two top-tier hospitals in Shanghai — Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center and Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine — have suspended outpatient services in their downtown branches on Thursday for coronavirus epidemic prevention and control reasons after two suspected patients were reported on Wednesday and Thursday at the two hospitals, the state media reported. 

A Global Times reporter found on Thursday morning that the cancer center had been cordoned off, and the area surrounding the Renji Hospital, including residential compounds, are in lockdown, with medical staffers from the local center for disease control and prevention and epidemiological investigation personal working on site. 

According to a notice from Renji Hospital on Thursday, one suspicious test result for coronavirus was found during regular nucleic acid testing on medical staff and outsourced supporting personnel at its downtown branch (western division) on Shandong Road Middle in Huangpu district. 

On Wednesday, the cancer center also reported a suspected patient, found during regular nucleic acid testing organized by the center in its downtown branch on Dongan Road in Xuhui district. 

Both hospitals are well-known around China. Statistics from the cancer center's official website show that its outpatient visits reached 1.57 million in 2019.