Radiologist drives 1,200 km to Wuhan to battle epidemic

10:56, February 09, 2020

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  Xinjiang supports battle against epidemic in Wuhan

  Bargul Tolheng, a Kazak girl from the Second Hospital in Urumqi in theXinjiangUygur Autonomous Region, wears a medical outfit. she is among the 102 medical staff from Xinjiang to support Wuhan amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. (Photo: Global Times)A video showing medical workers from Northwest Chinas Xinjiang Autonomous Region guiding patients to dance in a "Fang Cang" makeshift hospital in Wuhan went viral, with many netizens saying they were deeply touched by medical workers cheerful spirit and optimism in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.The dancer named Bargul Tolheng, a medical worker of Kazak ethnic minority originally from the Second Hospital in Urumqi of Xinjiang. She is among the second batch of medical personnel from Xinjiang to assist Wuhan."We are responsible for taking care of patients with light symptoms in the C area of the makeshift hospital," Bargul told the Global Times.The leader of our group found that the patients are in low morale which would not be good for their recovery. He suggested that I perform Xinjiang dances to cheer them up," she said.When Bargul, upon wearing her medical outfit and began to dance to the music, some patients stood aside and watched. More people joined her waggling their hands and waists and dancing in the hospital on Wednesday."After the dance, many patients chatted with me happily and asked me how I could manage to waggle my neck while wearing a medical outfit," Bargul said.The video of the patients and Bargul dancing together were uploaded on Chinese social media and went viral quickly on Wednesday. Many netizens commented that medical staff from Xinjiang brought their positive attitude and optimistic mood to Wuhan patients, encouraging them to recover sooner.With help from across the nation, Wuhan and Hubei will overcome the current hardship and win the battle against the virus.Bargul told the Global Times that there are 102 members in the...

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  President of Wuhan hospital with ALS battles against coronavirus epidemic

  File photo: CGTNThe hospitals in Central Chinas Wuhan are all battling a pneumonia outbreak caused by the new coronavirus, especially Jinyintan Hospital, the city’s largest specialized communicable disease hospital. Zhang Dingyu, the president of the hospital, who also suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), has spent more than 30 days battling on the front lines of the epidemic, and his spirit has touched peoples hearts. Dong Qian, a reporter from CCTV, interviewed him.Dong: What is the biggest challenge for you in this fight against the new coronavirus?Zhang: The biggest challenge should be the mismatch between the surge of patients and our limited human resources.D: What can you do?Z: What I can do is to mobilize all of us to give up our weekends, because we must protect our city and the people living in Wuhan as we stand in the eye of the storm.D: We all know that you are ill. What has changed in your mind since you told us this?Z: I am now a little more relaxed. Many colleagues used to ask me about my abnormal gait, but now I can just explain I am a patient, which makes me feel more at ease.D: Why did you choose not to say it before?Z: Because its privacy, just personal thing.D: Why did you change your choice this time?Z: Many medical teams including experts from Shanghai and Beijing came here. As we all know, when someone is ready to leave, as a courtesy, you are supposed to see them off. But I seldom do that because it’s very difficult for me to go down the stairs, which makes me feel uneasy. So I took this opportunity to tell the truth thatits not disrespect, but a burden for me. On the other hand, I also want to tell my colleagues that as long as we are able to do one thing toward the ultimate goal, we can then do something else too.D: How do you accept this reality?Z: I was scared at first because I take delight in my career and life. But suddenly someone told me that I won’t be around for too long.D: How much time do yo...

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  Epidemic battle a test of control mechanism

  Vehicles line up for inspection at a public security checkpoint on the Shanghai-Chongqing expressway on Sunday. (Photo: cnsphotos)As a large number of Chinese people return to work, airports and train stations at major Chinese cities have become busy again. The number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection outside of Central Chinas Hubei Province, the epicenter, are decreasing every day. Will the back flow of the population lead to changes in this situation? No one can say for certain.However, the second wave of epidemic outbreak can never be allowed to occur. If such a scenario is seen somewhere, local officials would absolutely be unable to reasonably explain to the local people as well as the central government.The back flow of the population cannot be stopped. But maintaining a stable situation of epidemic prevention and control is a must. Some say that the balance is way too difficult to manage. But this is not a multiple-choice question, but a goal that must be reached. Thus, tough or not, local governments have to do their utmost and not dishonor their mission.This shows our sense of responsibility. The epidemic conditions are different in different parts of China. More returning population means greater pressure to control the potential rebound of the epidemic. It also requires some luck because major cities cannot control how many of the returning population are already infected.However, the majority of Chinese cities still hold a great initiative. Stable prevention and control of the epidemic is the basis of all other succeeding work. To achieve this, the most important thing is to quickly track the returning peoples health condition. This requires that the existing prevention and control system must be further strengthened. We must resolutely achieve full coverage of the investigation and monitoring of the returning population. Every community and every work place should be a strong fortress to prevent the epidemic.There are two great...