Xuwen county, Zhanjiang, has become the first county in Guangdong province to designate hotels to house people from Hubei province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

As an important gateway connecting Guangdong province and Hainan Island, Xuwen county faces a severe and complicated epidemic situation.

Xuwen Huatong Hotel, which is about 300 meters from the Xuwen health bureau, is the headquarters of the prevention and control of the pneumonia outbreak caused by the novel coronavirus. The hotel is also the first tourist resettlement site in Zhanjiang for people from Hubei province.

Medical staff and volunteers deliver meals to on-site observers at Huatong Hotel in Xuwen county, Zhanjiang. [Photo by Nie An and Li Yangming/gdzjnews.com.cn]

On Jan 25, the Xuwen county government took the lead in designating hotels in the province to accommodate people unable to return to their homes in the outbreak area. The county rented Huatong Hotel, which has 176 beds, and is providing free food, accommodation, health screening and psychological counselling.

News of the touching gesture quickly spread on the internet and caused a strong response across the country. Netizens gave high praise to Xuwen and tourists from Hubei were deeply moved.

Many people have settled in Huatong Hotel and no pneumonia cases caused by the coronavirus have occurred there so far.