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March 31, 2020

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‘Love and hope stronger than virus’

By Li Qian | 00:00 UTC+8 March 31, 2020 | Print Edition

More Shanghai medics will head home from Wuhan, the city badly hit by the novel coronavirus in Hubei Province, today.

Shanghai’s Huashan Hospital has sent 273 medical workers in four batches to Wuhan since Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve on January 24. Over two months, they’ve been fighting the coronavirus on the front line in Jinyintan Hospital, the Wuhan Third Hospital, the Wuchang temporary hospital converted from Hongshan Stadium and the Guanggu branch of Wuhan Tongji Hospital.

To date, only 24 have returned to Shanghai. The others will return today as the last ICU ward operated by Huashan was emptied yesterday as the patients were discharged or transferred.

“We can tell our families that we had put up a desperate fight here,” said Ma Xin, vice president of the hospital.

The medics in Shanghai and Wuhan have formed deep friendships.

A letter written by Renmin Hospital of the Wuhan University states: “You resolutely put on your white coats of armor, left your homeland and joined hands with us in the anti-virus fight. We pay the highest respect and sincerest thanks to you and your families.”

Hundreds of medics from 10 cities and provinces, including Huashan and Renmin, have together run the Wuchang temporary hospital for 35 days, receiving 1,124 patients. It closed on March 10 after the last batch of 49 patients were discharged.

“Working night and day and seizing every second, you spared no effort to save and treat patients and you’ve done such a great job, reporting no death and no infected cases of medics,” the letter read. “After the ‘winter’ ends, we invite you to visit Wuhan.”

In a letter in reply, Huashan expressed gratitude: “Love and hope always spread faster than a virus. We hope our friendship will last long.”

Outside the Guanggu branch of the Wuhan Tongji Hospital, 17 cherry trees have been planted, which represent the 17 medical teams.

On February 10, Huashan took over the 30 beds in the hospital’s ICU wards, the most dangerous place with the most severe patients.

They had been in highly stressful conditions.

Today, 34 medics from Shanghai’s Yueyang Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine will also return to Shanghai.

They’ve been working in Jinyintan Hospital and Leishenshan Hospital for over two months.

During the anti-virus fight, TCM has emerged as a powerful weapon. Official statistics show more than 90 percent of novel coronavirus patients in China are treated with TCM.

Medics from Yueyang initiated the “Shanghai Leishen No. 1 treatment plan” and used herbs, acupuncture, moxibustion and acupoint plaster application on patients.

Nurse Zhang Yan remembered the day when they arrived in Wuhan. “Snow covered roads. It was dark and silent,” she said.

She added: “Now, cars are running again on the roads and buildings are lit up at nights. I guess patients recovered from the infection are returning home. Trees are sprouting and ‘spring of the anti-virus fight’ is much in the air.”

Metro


 

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