BEIJING, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- A total of 21 medics teams have been newly formed amid China's increased efforts to treat severe cases of the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in Wuhan, the epicenter city of the virus outbreak, the National Health Commission (NHC) said Thursday.

Medical team members prepare to leave for Xianning City of Hubei Province at Changshui International Airport in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 12, 2020. A medical team comprised of some 350 medical members left for Xianning City of Hubei Province on Wednesday. It's the third medical team sent from Yunnan to aid the novel coronavirus control efforts in Hubei. (Photo: Xinhua)

With 3,170 healthcare personnel in total, the 21 teams were dispatched by the commission on Wednesday to take over the treatment of patients at 10 intensive care wards and one intensive care unit of Tumor Center of Union Hospital affiliated to Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, as well as nine intensive care wards and one intensive care unit of Wuhan No. 1 Hospital.

The teams consist of healthcare professionals from provincial-level regions including Sichuan, Zhejiang, Tianjin and Jiangsu.