A total of 1,122 people injured in the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that struck southwest China last month are still in hospital, including 40 in critical condition and 23 in serious condition, national health authorities said on Monday.

As of 5 p.m. on Sunday, 5,868 people had been treated and discharged from medical facilities since the quake rocked Lushan County in Sichuan Province on April 20, said the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC).

Meanwhile, more than 3,400 medical staff who had been transferred to the quake-hit zone remain in the area to support local medical workers.

So far, nearly 800 garbage collection points have been set up in the zone. Workers have sterilized 2,252 hectares of land and disposed of more than 9,300 tons of garbage, according to the NHFPC.

No serious epidemics or public health emergencies have been reported in the area, it added.

The earthquake has left at least 196 dead. It is estimated that 2 million residents were affected by the natural disaster.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2013)