Traditional Chinese medicine has been playing an important role in treatment during the latest outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Li Fengsen, vice-president of the region's No 6 People's Hospital, which specializes in contagious disease, said TCM has been a timely addition to the treatment of COVID-19 cases since a resurgence of infections in the city on July 15.

The State Council's joint prevention and control mechanism has sent top TCM experts to the city. They have been applying clinically verified TCM formulations on the infected patients in the city.

"TCM has been used in all the cases, with good efficacy in improving mild, common and severe clinical symptoms of COVID-19," Li said during a virus control and prevention conference on Sunday. "It is also useful for the prevention of complications related to COVID-19."

Meanwhile, to provide adequate high-quality treatment for COVID-19 patients, the region's TCM hospital has dispatched 36 experienced doctors and experts who understand both Chinese and Western medicine to help in treating infections at No 6 People's Hospital.