HANGZHOU, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, beefed up its first-aid training and kits in 2019 as China called for necessary related facilities in public places.

The number of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Hangzhou has reached around 630, almost doubling the number from the previous year, according to the city's emergency center.

Middle and high schools have also included first-aid training as a compulsory course.

Over 300,000 people have been trained on how to use first-aid devices, said Tao Yi'er with the Red Cross Society of China's Hangzhou branch.

"If more first-aid equipment is installed in public places and more people are trained to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more patients will be saved," said Wang Jiangang with Hangzhou's emergency center.

Wang added that emergency treatment of sudden cardiac arrest in China is far less effective than in developed countries.

According to the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, China reports around 550,000 cases of sudden cardiac death on average per year, including instances outside of hospitals where patients die due to the lack of AEDs.

China issued a draft law on the promotion of basic medical and health care in December 2019 which stipulates that there must be necessary first-aid equipment or facilities in all public places.