Medical workers gather before leaving for Wuhan of Hubei Province in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on Jan. 26, 2020. (Photo: Xinhua)

China has sent 6,000 medical workers to Hubei Province in the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak, a health official said Tuesday.

Since January 24, a total of 4,130 medical workers from other places in China have arrived in Wuhan hospitals for coronavirus outbreak control. By Tuesday evening, an additional 1,800 will arrive, said Jiao Yahui, deputy director of the NHC’s Hospital Administrative Bureau at a regular press briefing.

The first batches were sent from Shanghai and Guangdong.

These nearly 6,000 medical workers are from China’s 29 provincial-level regions, consisting of professionals in respiratory systems, infectious diseases and intensive care.

Wuhan is the worst-hit city in the novel coronavirus epidemic. The NHC will deploy medical aid teams there to assist neighboring smaller cities, which are also troubled by shortages of protective gear and medical personnel, Jiao said.

By the end of Monday, a total of 2,714 confirmed cases had been reported in Hubei and 2,567 patients have been hospitalized, the Hubei Provincial Health Commission said Tuesday. Hospitals across the province received 31,934 fever patients Monday.

(Compiled by Chen Lidan. With input from Xinhua)