Mar 7, 2020 - Health

In photos: 34 rescued from collapsed hotel used as quarantine center in southeast China

Orion Rummler

This image is an areal view of the collapsed hotel — Rescuers search for survivors of the collapsed hotel in Quanzhou on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

At least 34 people have been rescued from a collapsed hotel in the southeastern Chinese province Fujian that held people under quarantine amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, South China Morning Post reports, citing several local media outlets.

What's happening: About 70 people were in the Xinjia Express Hotel when it collapsed on Saturday evening local time, AP reports. The hotel was reportedly converted by the city to observe people who had contact with virus patients.

The big picture: There are currently more than 80,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in mainland China. In January — soon after the outbreak became public — many people in China struggled to find a hospital that would admit them or quickly test them for the virus, the New York Times reports.

"Despite having dealt with the SARS coronavirus nearly two decades ago, many Chinese hospitals in smaller cities are not fully prepared to deal with a major outbreak like the current virus," the NYT's Sui-Lee Wee wrote in January.

In this image, a group of emergency workers walk through the rubble — Rescuers carry an injured man out of the rubble on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

In this image, rescuers help a man walk — A woman is rescued from the rubble on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

In this image, a man climbs the rubble of the collapsed hotel — A man is helped by rescuers as he is pulled from the rubble on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

In this image, emergency workers stand in the rubble — Rescuers search for survivors of the collapsed hotel in Quanzhou on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

In this image, a person is carried — A man is helped by rescuers as he is pulled from the rubble on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

In this image, people are helped down a ladder — A woman and others are rescued from the rubble on March 7. Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

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