Feng Feng, a community worker in Wuhan, used to help record information about the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, but recently he has been assigned a different task－buying and delivering drugs for patients with chronic diseases in his community.

"Most of the patients are elderly, and the drugs in most demand are those for treating diabetes and hypertension," Feng said.

He started buying drugs for common chronic diseases at the request of patients in Huiminyuan community, in Jiang'an district－many of them elderly and unable to walk long distances－in late January after the city was locked down, with all public transport suspended to reduce transmission of the virus.

Since mid-February, the city government has stepped up movement control efforts and imposed stricter limits on the movement of urban residents, increasing Feng's workload.

"Sometimes I work more than 12 hours a day and have to go to more than 10 drugstores to get the needed drugs, but I still cannot buy all the drugs for them," he said.

With the control and prevention of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic still the top priority in Wuhan, authorities in the city, including grassroots ones such as the Huiminyuan community service center, are stepping up efforts to respond to the needs of patients with other diseases.

There were 50 retail pharmacies in Wuhan selling drugs used to treat serious chronic diseases by Wednesday－up from two before the outbreak began in Decemberthe city's healthcare security bureau said.

Before the outbreak, most patients with chronic diseases got their drugs from 216 designated hospitals and clinics in the city, but most of the hospitals suspended services to prioritize the diagnosis and treatment of the increasing number of novel coronavirus pneumonia patients.

Many patients also prefer to go to pharmacies to get drugs for fear of cross-infection at hospitals, the bureau said.

In addition to increasing the number of pharmacies authorized to sell such drugs, the bureau has released a guideline that encourages community workers to buy drugs for residents so they can avoid crowds in pharmacies.

Wang Zhongfeng, CEO of Laobaixing Pharmacy in Wuhan, said three pharmacies owned by the company are among the 50 certified by the city's health authorities to sell drugs used to treat serious chronic diseases.

They started to sell prescription drugs for 10 chronic diseases－including hypertension, diabetes, obstructive pulmonary diseases and hepatitis B－on Feb 11.

"About 200 patients come to the shops to buy drugs every day," she said. "They are not over-the-counter drugs, and normally patients need a prescription from a doctor to buy such drugs. But in this unusual period of epidemic control, the pharmacies can sell the drugs as long as patients provide a record certifying they have the diseases."

The demand for such drugs was high, she said, and the company was trying to ensure supply to meet patients' needs.

Feng said drugs for treating chronic diseases were in great demand by patients in Wuhan, especially the elderly.

In Huiminyuan community, where more than 6,000 households live, more than 1,000 people needed drugs for chronic diseases, he said.

Although many patients in the community asked him to buy two months' supply of drugs at a time, Feng said he could only buy enough for one month's use each time. Otherwise, he would not be able to carry them back to the community.

The authorities in Wuhan want more hospitals in the city to resume services to patients with diseases other than novel coronavirus pneumonia, especially those with serious chronic diseases, while ensuring all novel coronavirus pneumonia patients are hospitalized for treatment, the city's healthcare security bureau said.

Last week, Wuhan's health commission published a list of 57 hospitals that are providing services to patients not infected with the novel coronavirus, including those with cardiovascular diseases or cancer, those needing blood dialysis and the pregnant, to help them find medical care.

On Tuesday, Wuhan's healthcare security bureau announced that patients who have joined the city's basic healthcare insurance program and seek services at WeDoctor, an online hospital, will be able to get their medical bills reimbursed by the insurance fund.

The policy is aimed at making life more convenient for patients with chronic diseases by ensuring they can get their drugs without having to leave home, the bureau said.