Staff of Shanghai's third medical team to Wuhan back with families
Chen Erzhen, vice president of Ruijin Hospital, who headed the third medical team to Wuhan, meets his family after the 14-day quarantine.
Chen Erzhen with his family.
The 148 medical workers and support staff comprising the city's third medical team to Wuhan, who returned to Shanghai on March 22, have been discharged from their 14-day quarantine after negative test results on Sunday.
Meanwhile, another 470 medical staff from Renji Hospital, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai No.5 People's Hospital, Shanghai No.7 People's Hospital and Yangpu District Central Hospital in Wuhan, will return to Shanghai on Monday afternoon.
The only remaining medical staff from Shanghai remaining in Wuhan are the 51 members of the medical team from Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital.
On Sunday morning, the 148 staff from 40 local hospitals, including Huashan, Zhongshan and Ruijin, tested negative for coronavirus and ended their quarantine. To celebrate, they planted trees at the quarantine site in Qingpu District and released balloons.
Chen Erzhen, vice president of Ruijin Hospital and head of the team, said staff at the quarantine site had made them feel welcome.
"Besides being able to relax, we completed summaries of our experiences and ideas in the fight against the coronavirus and will share them with medics at home and abroad," Chen said.
"Tomorrow we'll be back at our old jobs. But the WeChat group of the third medical team to Wuhan will never dissolve. During the stay in Wuhan, we fought for the same goal and were always united as one."
Wang Ruilan, from Shanghai General Hospital, said she felt grateful for the love and care locals gave them every day in Wuhan.
"I'm 54 years old this year and the coronavirus epidemic was a challenge for me," Wang said. "When I was in Wuhan, I gained new knowledge and ways of working as well as experiencing the Wuhan medical teams' spirit of selflessness. These are all worth keeping in mind for a lifetime. We can feel the love that people in Wuhan brought to us and it makes our hearts full of thanks."
Wang, who led a team to save the first H1N1 flu critical patient in Shanghai in 2009, saved the life of a 103-year-old patient on March 16 in Wuhan.
"I had a online meeting with my colleagues at the quarantine site," Wang added. "Currently, the coronavirus pandemic is serious overseas and I attempted to seek their opinion if they were willing to sign up to support foreign countries. What moved me is that all of them agreed within one minute."
Guo Jiyun and Lu Ling are two nurses from Changning District Maternity and Infant Health Hospital who were responsible of caring for the critical coronavirus disease patients at Wuhan No.3 People's Hospital's Guanggu branch. Although they are back in Shanghai now, they still worry about the health of their patients in Wuhan.
Guo and Lu can remember one chubby elderly woman. When she got to their ward, the doctor had already issued a notice of critical illness. Guo took special care of her, talking to her in a mild voice before carrying out medical duties.
"Although she was unable to open her eyes, she slightly held my hand every time I called her," Guo said. "I knew she can hear my words."
Thanks to their care, the elderly woman no longer needs to use a breathing machine and can communicate with medics through eye contact.
"The 55 days I spent in Wuhan are the most precious experiences in my life," Lu said. "Next time when I visit Wuhan, I will go to the Wuhan No.3 People's Hospital and see the areas where I fought."
During the quarantine, Li Qun, Li Limei and Liu Huining, three medics from Longhua Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, wrote a joint letter to the hospital, requesting to work on the forefront again to battle the coronavirus brought to Shanghai from overseas.
Zhu Peimin, a female medic from Shuguang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, also showed her determination to contribute to the city's coronavirus treatment.
"I've gained a lot of valuable experience in Wuhan on epidemic prevention and treatment," Zhu said. "I hope that I can get to work soon. Whenever there's a need, I'll be there."
After a more than two-month separation, Li Qingyun, a doctor with Ruijin Hospital, finally got to hold his son in arms.
"It's awesome that my dad, who I most admire, has come home," said the young boy Li Jianing. "I hope each medic went to Wuhan like my dad can return home safely."
His wife Wu Yujun said at the beginning they were very worried.
"But we firmly trust that his professional abilities can help him overcome all the difficulties," Wu said. "Later we heard good news from the forefront with the rising cure rate of their team and felt very proud. Before meeting him, I had a lot to tell but now I'm relieved and just want to give him a hug."
The 51 medical workers with Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital left in Wuhan are still busy working.
In the past 46 days, at the C2 ward of Wuhan's Leishenshan Hospital, they cooperated with medics from Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital and received 116 patients, with 78 discharged upon recovery. Now they are in charge of the hospital's last general critical care unit.
So far the hospital has 60 patients in the intensive care unit of its A section and the general critical care unit of C2 section. In the C2 ward, there are 34 patients, including 11 critical and 13 severely sick.
Li Qingyun, a doctor with Ruijin Hospital, holds his son in arms after a more than two-month-long separation.
Medics from Renji Hospital celebrate their discharge.
Medical workers with Shanghai Sxith People's Hospital are still working in Wuhan.
Medical workers with Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, the only team from Shanghai in Wuhan, bid farewell to colleagues, who will return to Shanghai on Monday.
