Yangzhou in Jiangsu province is making all-out efforts to treat people infected in a COVID-19 outbreak that saw it report 36 new cases on Wednesday, the city's health authorities said.

The new cases took the tally of confirmed cases in the recent outbreak in the city to 162, including nine in serious condition and two in critical condition, said Wang Jingsong, deputy director of Yangzhou's health commission.

Many of the 162 cases are aged 60 or above and got infected at mahjong lounges when they were playing the game with other seniors. Some patients are aged 80 or above.

Yangzhou No 3 People's Hospital has cleared its wards and optimized its intensive care units for treating confirmed patients, Wang said. Other hospitals in Yangzhou have sent two medical teams, each consisting of more than 60 medical workers, to help the No 3 hospital treat patients, especially those in intensive care.

"Many senior people who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, coronary heart disease and hypertension, may have organ function problems before they are infected with the virus," said Yang Yi, director of Zhongda Hospital's intensive care department. "The problems put them at higher risk of severe conditions from COVID-19.

"Treating those patients in serious and critical conditions is one of our most important tasks," she said, adding that traditional Chinese medicine has proved effective in treating patients in serious condition.

Chen Xufeng, deputy director of Jiangsu Province Hospital's emergency medical center, said that many experienced doctors who helped save severely ill patients in Wuhan last year are now working at designated hospitals for COVID-19.

"We have a relatively effective guideline for the treatment of the novel coronavirus disease," he said. "Almost all the symptoms and the following treatment plans for the patients can be predicted accurately."

Both Yang and Chen are helping to treat patients at the Nanjing Public Health Medical Center, which is Nanjing's designated hospital for COVID-19 patients.

Nanjing, Jiangsu's provincial capital, which previously received almost all the patients from Yangzhou, discharged six patients on Thursday. They will stay in a designated rehabilitation hospital for 14 days, during which time they will be given follow-up therapy using traditional Chinese medicine before they return home.

Ye Zizhen contributed to this story.