NANJING - A designated rehabilitation hospital was put into service on Wednesday in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, for cured COVID-19 patients.

The Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Lishui District in south Nanjing was transformed into this rehabilitation hospital within 24 hours after reconstruction work kicked off Monday.

With 270 beds in place, the rehabilitation hospital admitted the first batch of cured COVID-19 patients on Wednesday afternoon.

The hospitalized patients will be under 14-day quarantine observation and given follow-up therapy using traditional Chinese medicine, said Zhou Haisen, executive dean of the hospital.

Nanjing, a metropolis with a population of more than 9.3 million, has reported a total of 223 locally transmitted confirmed cases since new cluster infections began to emerge on July 20 when a few airport cleaners at the Nanjing Lukou International Airport tested positive during the routine testing.

The city has seen a downward trend in its newly confirmed cases, with the past three days logging 11, five and three cases, respectively.