(Yicai Global) April 15 -- Large hospitals in Shanghai are dealing with rising outpatient numbers amid limited resources during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The hospital will try its best to meet its patients' needs even though fewer employees are on duty, the head of an ultrasound imaging department at a big hospital in Shanghai said to Yicai Global.

The number of patients has been growing exponentially in recent days, and medical staff is in short supply as many employees live in areas under lockdown, Yicai Global learned. Those who are still working sleep in the hospital to reduce the infection risk, the person added.

Meeting people is risky at the moment. Hospitals in Shanghai are receiving a huge number of patients, so the risk of infections is rising, said another hospital insider. The person said that the facility has an advanced air conditioning system so the chances of virus transmission should be low even though still higher than at hospitals for infectious diseases.

Healthcare facilities need to be particularly careful. "Large hospitals are often crowded with people, creating greater risks of hospital-acquired infection, especially for medical staff," said a healthcare worker.

The pandemic requires heightened precautions from hospital staff. Doctors need to wear protective clothing and departments receiving patients with infectious diseases must be disinfected immediately afterward, which is something emergency departments are familiar with, said a medical staffer.

Each infection has ripple effects. If a Covid-19 case is detected in one department, the patient's close contacts must be isolated and members of all other departments need to get tested, said one of the workers.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi