Shanxi teams join in fight to beat virus

More patients in Xiantao, Hubei province, are cured of infections as doctors remain vigilant

Twenty-five patients cured of the novel coronavirus were released from the No 1 People's Hospital of Xiantao on Feb 10, thanks to the dedicated efforts and hard work of a medical rescue team from Shanxi province and doctor Yuan Dajiang in particular.

Yuan is the head of the medical rescue team that has traveled to Hubei province to help fight the novel coronavirus epidemic in the city of Xiantao.

Hubei is the province most severely hit by the coronavirus outbreak since December last year.

Since late January, Shanxi province in North China has dispatched six medical rescue teams to Hubei to help fight against the virus.

"The first patient we cured was discharged from the hospital three days ago," Yuan said, adding that "today is a big day for our team as so many patients are cured".

His colleague Ma Guanzhong was among the most joyful.

He showed the WeChat messages sent by the first released patient to the media, which were full of heartfelt gratitude.

"The patient was in a critical situation when we first saw him but he survived with a strong will," Ma said.

Ma was reluctant to say what treatment they gave the patient, only saying that he and his colleague are moved and motivated by the warmhearted greetings on WeChat.

"They (the medical team) are from Shanxi and they bring us hope," said a patient surnamed Dong.

Dong is a suspected coronavirus case quarantined in a hospital in the Hubei city of Qianjiang, which is looked after by another medical team from Shanxi. Dong said she feels better and more confident with the care of the Shanxi medical workers.

"When the epidemic is over, I will treat you to the most delicious crawfish in Qianjiang," Dong said to her medical care givers.

Qianjiang is famous around China for its freshwater crawfish.

The medical team in Qianjiang was among the first from Shanxi. The hospital where they are working is a new hospital that was scheduled to open in May.

The hospital became operational immediately in response to the emergency, after the team took three days to train local medical workers and test equipment.

"It is a miracle for our hospital considering the efficiency," said Song Shugui, the top nurse at the hospital.

"The standardized protective measures they carried out benefited not only the patients but the medical workers as well," Song said.

Standardized management is crucial to infectious disease control and treatment, according to Xue Wenlong, a doctor specializing in protective management for infectious diseases.

Xue, also from Shanxi, is now working at a makeshift hospital in Jiang'an district in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

The doctor said he is responsible for circulating operational standards among the doctors covering a range of areas including the use of protective equipment, the layout of inpatient rooms, disinfection, noncontact service and medical waste treatment.

"The medical workers are the most precious wealth in this battle against the coronavirus epidemic, so we must ensure that they can work in safety," Xue said.

"I'm confident we will remain safe by following the strictest protective measures," said Li Shuping, a nurse from Shanxi now working at the Sino-French New Town Hospital in Caidian district of Wuhan.

Yuan Zhaohui, Jin Shuaini, Wang Yu and Shen Jia contributed to the story.