Major hospitals in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, have set up special operating rooms and isolation wards for COVID-19 patients as demand grows, local media reported.

Many hospitals have worked to optimize their diagnostic and treatment processes and have set up special treatment centers and intensive care units for the patients who test positive for COVID-19.

Infections have increased sharply in the southern metropolis in recent weeks, Nanfang Daily reported on Thursday.

"Special medical staffs have been organized to ensure that infected people are treated in a timely manner," it said.

The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University used its special COVID-19 operating theater to rescue a 56-year-old man surnamed Huang on Saturday. Huang was critically ill with cerebral bleeding after striking his head in a fall at home.

He was reported to have had a fever and cough in the previous two days. He tested positive for the coronavirus.

He is currently in stable condition and recovering in the isolation ward for COVID-19 patients after his surgery.

A woman surnamed Lu is also recovering in the ward after surgery. She had a heart attack and also tested positive.

Meanwhile, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and other major hospitals have also established special operating rooms and isolation wards for COVID-19 patients.

The Guangzhou headquarters for COVID-19 prevention and control has issued a notice to major hospitals in the city saying that no medical institutions may refuse to treat COVID-19 patients for any reason.

The number of patients has increased fivefold to tenfold in some outpatient departments in Guangzhou, and between 60 and 70 percent of the fever patients tested positive for COVID-19, local media said.