Frontline veterans of Wuhan swing back into action
Medics in Minhang District who went to the Hubei provincial capital Wuhan when COVID-19 first hit China two years ago are back at the forefront as Shanghai confronts a resurgence of the virus.
Medics in Minhang District who went to the Hubei provincial capital Wuhan when COVID-19 first hit China two years ago are back at the forefront as Shanghai confronts a resurgence of the virus.
Huang Lili, a deputy head nurse of the district's Shanghai No. 5 People's Hospital, joined the battle against the pandemic in Wuhan on the eve of the Spring Festival in 2020.
Now, Huang and her colleagues are back on the frontline manning nucleic acid testing sites and quarantine hospitals.
"I did sampling for five hours yesterday and once again I didn't drink anything for eight hours, like I did in Wuhan two years ago. I don't think that I reached my limit," Huang said.
"We're all racing against time day and night to endure and pass on hope."
The hospital entered its temporary lockdown on March 10, but its medics refused to sit by.
"We saw people assisting in community nucleic acid testing. They worked hard and we thought about joining them," said Yan Cuili, a medical worker at the hospital.
Ding Yihong, an emergency department doctor, and Mei Zhoufang, a respiratory department doctor, also joined as community volunteers.
"We did nucleic acid testing for the residents. Each member had their own division of labor. We worked from morning until night to race against the spread of the virus," said Ding.
"We saw a young mother with an 11-month-old baby girl and a 90-year-old elder sitting on wheelchair," said Mei. "Both of them refused preferential treatment and queued to take the test. We were encouraged by their support and understanding."
Liu Wenjin, a nurse from the geriatric care department, said: "We would repeat for about 900 times saying, 'please open your mouth for a while,' and hundreds of residents would reply 'thank you.'
"We felt mutually encouraged."
Shi Xinyi, another nurse from the hospital, joined medical support at a quarantined hotel.
"At a quarantined hotel, we might not worry about a heavy load of work nor the risk of being infected with the virus most, but how to release the tense emotions of the quarantined patients," said Shi.
Deng Yanfeng, a psychiatrist from the Minhang Mental Health Center, said special attention to the mental condition of two pregnant women at a quarantined hotel.
The doctor also made questionnaires testing whether patients had depression, anxiety or stress.
