People in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, have been advised to prioritize the use of online hospitals and grass-root medical institutions for non-emergency medical needs for the time being.

Internet hospitals in Guangzhou have conducted 270,700 online medical consultations and issued 15,300 prescriptions since October 20, with the medicines delivered to patients via courier, said Zhang Yi, deputy director of the Guangzhou health commission, at a news conference on Tuesday.

The authorities have said that hospitals capable of providing online services should give full play to such services, enhance their capacity in this respect, optimize medicine delivery and constantly improve people's experience in using such services, she said.