This robot is being used in China to protect medics from coronavirus

Video. This robot is being used in China to protect medics from coronavirus

Meet the robot that has been deployed in China amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Meet the robot that has been deployed in China amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.

Xiao Bao goes around restricted wards at Haidian Hospital, Beijing, where suspected and infected patients are staying.

Remotely controlled by medical workers, it delivers medications, takes temperatures and spends time educating patients about medical precautions.

Dong Jianping, director at the hospital's department of infectious diseases, said having the robot means a huge stone is lifted off her heart as staying too long in the restricted wards poses high risks for medical workers.

The best thing about the robot, Dong said, is that doctors and patients can now speak to patients via Xiao Bao for a longer time than they could in person.

Haidian Hospital is among the first in China's capital city to employ the robot amid the epidemic outbreak.

The hospital is also experimenting with the usage of disinfectant robots and other service robots. All these measures are to minimise the dangers for medical workers.