Call from the front line

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Wuhan, Hubei province, and then spread across the nation and around the world, Shenzhen have been one of the most severely hit areas. With 427 infections as of Wednesday, Shenzhen ranks fourth among all Chinese cities outside Hubei.

Reporting its first case on Jan 19, Shenzhen saw its disease situation worsen rapidly. On a single day, Jan 31, the city recorded 60 new cases. By the end of that day, there were 170 infection cases in the city, with 166 hospitalized in the Third People's Hospital, the only hospital in the city admitting coronavirus patients. The hospital's medical staff was quickly overwhelmed. The labor shortage was particularly felt by the nursing staff, which was treating the most severely ill patients in the ICU.

By late January, 36 ICU nurses were charged with the care of about 20 patients on average. However, according to national standards, every ICU COVID-19 patient needs at least six nurses.

The hospital appealed for help to shore up its already limited resources while also facing the possibility of ever-increasing patient numbers. The hospital asked government authorities to send help from other public hospitals.

The HKU-SZH responded by sending seven veteran medical employees — five nurses with ICU experience, an ICU doctor, and another doctor to oversee detection of viruses. The selected ones were all between 26 and 36 years old. Five were men, and two were women. Three members of the team have families to take care of.

The team joined dozens of doctors and nurses from other hospitals in Shenzhen. The temporarily reassigned workers have varied backgrounds, but all are working toward the same goal — defeating the virus.