China demands all-out efforts to treat quake patients

BEIJING - China's top health authority on Wednesday called for all-out, well-coordinated efforts in treating patients in quake zone of Northwest China's Gansu province.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission asked Gansu provincial health department to deploy health experts properly so services can be accessed in an orderly manner.

Efforts should also be made in epidemic prevention and psychological help should be provided for survivors.

The commission said it has been dispatching health experts to assist medical staff in treating patients in serious or critical condition.

As of 5 pm Tuesday, the number of people that have been treated by medical institutions was 1,243, including 185 patients reported to be in a serious or critical status.

A 6.6-magnitude quake jolted the juncture area of Minxian and Zhangxian counties in the city of Dingxi at 7:45 am Monday morning, leaving at least 95 people dead as of Tuesday evening.