Intensive care: The medical workers of Wuhan
- BY Gong Haiying
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E-mail China Pictorial, February 26, 2020
At 11:20 p.m. of February 6, 2020, Zhao Zhigang, a physician at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, finally left work.
It was the second day since he returned to work after he recovered from infection with the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). After his recovery, instead of getting some rest, Zhao immediately resumed his post. Every day he begins to work at 8 a.m. and stays at the hospital well into the night. "Sometimes when I put on a protective suit to treat patients, I feel chest distress," said Zhao. "However, I can't stop thinking about how much my return helps relieve pressure on other doctors and nurses, so I couldn't wait to get back to the front lines."
At age 40, Zhao works as an ICU doctor at Zhongnan Hospital, one of the 27 level-A tertiary hospitals in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. As early as January 8, soon after the outbreak of COVID-19 in the city, his emergency ward had already transformed into a quarantine area for fever patients. By mid-January, he was diagnosed to be infected with COVID-19 due to close contact with patients. For three consecutive days, the symptoms of fever and chest congestion worsened. On January 22, his infection was confirmed. At that time, the number of fever patients in Wuhan was rising precipitously. Given the shortage of medical resources, Zhao decided to treat himself in isolation at home. Soon thereafter, his wife and mother-in-law were also confirmed as infected.
"I was scared at first," Zhao recalled. As a doctor for more than 10 years, Zhao knew his knowledge of COVID-19 was insufficient. He also felt guilty for not being able to protect his family. However, after the hardest days at the beginning, Zhao began to see things from a different perspective. "Being infected with virus was not that terrible," he claimed. "What's important is your attitude about it." After his condition improved, Zhao immediately signed up to join Zhongnan Hospital's online consultation expert team. On January 28, he began to provide online consultation services. During his treatment in isolation, he worked more than 10 hours per day and served more than 700 people online. Alongside giving his patients medical advice, Zhao stressed the importance of staying calm and avoiding panic.
Going back to his post in the hospital after recovery was a great physical and mental challenge for Zhao. He returned to find his hospital, which had become totally dedicated to treating novel coronavirus-infected people, packed with patients. The number of severe cases in the ICU had reached 30, surpassing the capacity of the ward by far. The workload in the ICU was overflowing. "The hospital was operating under massive pressure to treat patients infected with COVID-19," remarked Zhao. Although his wife and mother-in-law were making progress, they were still being treated after he returned to work. Zhao was so worried about their conditions that he sent various items to the hospital where they were treated every few days. "I could only glance at them from far away, and I needed to go back to work."
Thanks to support from China's central government and other regions of the country as well as international assistance, the shortage of medical personnel, beds and supplies in Wuhan gradually eased. Zhao started seeing victory against the epidemic on the horizon. "The current situation is still grave," said Zhao on February 11. "However, as we stand in solidarity, we will soon seize a bright future."
Statistics from China's National Health Commission show that as of February 17, around 30,000 medical workers from across the country had reached Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, to join the fight against the epidemic. Among them were 11,000 intensive care specialists like Zhao. After an additional 2,000 beds for treating severe cases of COVID-19 were added on February 19, Zhongnan Hospital became the largest dedicated hospital in Wuhan to treat infected patients. "We will keep going until final victory arrives!" Zhao proclaimed to his followers on social media.
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