It will take less than a week. A 34,000 square metre hospital built in the middle of an epidemic.

Marshalling all of the compulsory and voluntary labour a one-party state can muster, the Fire God Mountain Hospital in Wuhan is touted to open by Saturday, adding 1000 beds to a city that has had its hospital system overrun.

Before and after: A symbol of China's rapid response, albeit delayed, has been the speed at which workers in Wuhan are erecting a pair of field hospitals to accommodate virus patients. Credit:Getty

A second will follow. Nearby, the Thunder God Mountain Hospital is scheduled to add another 1300 beds by Monday.

Intensive care units, supply warehouses and ambulance washing rooms will soon fill the steel frames.