FUZHOU, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Yao Xiujuan, a respiratory physician in east China's Fujian Province, received a patient wondering whether he had been infected with the novel coronavirus since he had coughed and sneezed for over a week and antibiotics and cold medicine failed to ease his ailment.

Yao ruled out the possibility after she learned that the patient had neither been to any public venue nor been exposed to suspected cases of the new virus. Then she wrote a prescription and urged the patient to revisit her for a follow-up three days later.

The whole inquiry process was conducted via cellphone, and the doctor and the patient never met in person.

Fujian Provincial Hospital, Yao's employer, has added free consulting and preliminary screening for the novel coronavirus to its online services since February, attracting hundreds of users during the first day of its opening.

"Telemedicine helps reduce the number of visiting patients, and thus lowers the possibility of cross infection since there is no exposure to other potentially contagious patients," Yao said.

To ease the burden of hospitals overloaded with patients amid the virus outbreak, China has stepped up efforts to provide online medical services for patients, especially those with fever and cough.

In Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak in central China's Hubei Province, nearly 400 experts from Tongji Hospital provide free consultation services on the hospital's website.

"Since the launch of the online consultation service on Jan. 24, more than 60,000 people have consulted our doctors," said Li Gang, director of the outpatient office of the hospital.

Similar measures have been taken in Anhui Province. Anhui Provincial Hospital and four other hospitals in Hefei, the provincial capital, launched online fever clinics and arranged for doctors to provide free consultation for patients with fever.

Patients are able to consult specialists at the "Internet hospital" by submitting pictures, texts and videos. Doctors can review examination reports, perform triage and prescribe medications for patients online.

According to Wang Ran, a physician at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, for the time being, most patients are more in line with the symptoms of common colds. They are advised to stay at home for treatment and observation so as to minimize the possibility of cross infections.

"Only 1 percent of my online patients are suspected cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. Most such patients had recent contact with Wuhan and their symptoms are distinct," said Wang Ran. "I would advise them to go to the hospital for further confirmation and treatment."

Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba and JD.com have also launched online consultation services for the new virus outbreak.

On We Doctor, a Tencent-backed online healthcare service platform, doctors across the country treated over 100,000 patients on the first day of the Lunar New Year. The company vows to provide free online outpatient services for all Chinese citizens until the virus outbreak is contained.