Zhang Boli, 72, from the Chinese Academy of Engineering and president of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine visits medical workers at Jiangxia Hospital, a makeshift facility in Wuhan operated by TCM professionals in Central China's Hubei province, on March 10, 2020. Having been in operation for 26 days since Feb 14, the hospital officially closed on March 10. [Photo by Zhu Xingxin/chinadaily.com.cn]

Wuhan's first and only traditional Chinese medicine makeshift hospital closed on March 10.

During the 26-day operation that began Feb 14, Jiangxia Makeshift Hospital admitted 564 patients, cured 392, and transferred the rest to other hospitals.

"This is the first hospital managed by TCM medical staff in Wuhan for COVID-19 treatment. The result is a great success because we created three records -- no patients went into serious condition from milder symptoms, no one tested positive again after recovery and no medical staff were infected,"said Liu Qingquan, president of the hospital and head of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated with Capital Medical University.

Due to TCM's effectiveness in treating novel coronavirus patients, China mobilized more than 4,000 TCM doctors from more than 600 hospitals to fight against the epidemic in Central China's Hubei Province.

On Feb 14, 209 TCM medical personnel from five provinces and municipalities -- Tianjin, Jiangsu, Henan, Hunan, and Shanxi, gathered in the Jiangxia Makeshift Hospital and started to treat patients.

"Treating patients is like a war. The ultimate goal is to save lives but not kill the virus. TCM has a package of tools to treat patients having similar symptoms. We have herbs, massage and acupuncture," said Yan Dongsheng from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Yan said his team would move to another hospital to help.