Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has played an important role in treating confirmed COVID-19 patients in Beijing's latest cluster infections related to the Xinfadi market, said a veteran TCM doctor.

The expert team on treatment has formulated the principle that asymptomatic cases and those with mild symptoms are mainly treated with TCM, and severe and critical COVID-19 patients are treated with joint consultation and combination of TCM and Western medicine, said Liu Qingquan, president of the Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, at a press conference held Sunday on the city's prevention and control of COVID-19.

From June 11 to July 4, Beijing reported 334 confirmed locally-transmitted cases, all of whom received treatment at Beijing Ditan Hospital.

A total of 108 medics from other Beijing hospitals have joined Beijing Ditan Hospital to help with the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Liu said seven among the 10 patients, who had been discharged after recovery by Saturday, were cured with TCM treatment as the primary therapy.

For mild and asymptomatic COVID-19 infected people, doctors prescribed TCM decoction with functions of "clearing away heat, detoxifying and cooling blood" and proprietary Chinese medicine such as Jinhua Qinggan Granule, Yindan Jiedu Granule and Huoxiang Zhengqi Capsule.

"All of the five critically ill and 21 severely ill patients have been receiving the combination treatment of TCM and Western medicine," said Liu.

Among the critically ill patients, one has recovered from critical condition, three have been removed from respiratory assistance, and one patient has been withdrawn from Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) therapy, Liu said. 

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