An artist's impression of the planned Rudong public health clinical center. [Photo/WeChat account: dream8086]

Work on the new public health clinical center in Rudong county – administered by Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – started on Jan 1 and is expected to be commissioned ready for use in October, 2022.

The planned construction period will be 550 days and the total investment will be nearly 170 million yuan ($26.3 million).

In a bid to fight the COVID-19 pandemic at full strength, the new facility was given the green light by Rudong county in July last year.

Located west of the county people's hospital and relying on its medical resources, the clinical center is designed for medium and long-term epidemic prevention and control, as well as infectious diseases diagnosis and treatment in Rudong county.

With nine floors above ground and one floor underground, the center will have a total floorspace area of 20,000 square meters. After completion, it will be equipped with an acute respiratory infection fever clinic and an isolation ward, clinics and wards for intestinal and liver diseases, acute infectious disease and tuberculosis and it will have some 200 beds.

With restricted access to the hospital's other areas, the clinical center can be immediately closed in case of a public health emergency.