2020 is a year definitely a year that everyone will remember deeply. The COVID-19 and its sudden appearance made this year of the rat different that we thought.
On Chinese New Year’s Eve, when families should be reunited, the outbreak of the virus made the medical staff rush to Wuhan in order to provide emergency assistance. In a scene that made countless Chinese burst into tears, medical staff from all over the country left their families to fight the epidemic.
Wang Xian, a former surgeon, is now a staff member of the Health Bureau. Although he holds a different position, he has never forgotten his vows. “I decided to volunteer because I am devoted to medicine, I love my country and I think in these hard times is important to be loyal to the people and work tirelessly”, said Wang.
Wang explained in detail the first measures taken since the outbreak:
On January 23, the city of Wuhan was closed, and the local government quickly established an emergency headquarters for the prevention and control of pneumonia outbreaks of COVID-19 Jintan District, Changzhou City.
On the 26th, the Jintan district initiated the public health emergency plan and implemented first-level response prevention and control measures.
“In my case, as a health professional and the head of the medical and political bureau of the Health and Welfare Bureau, I can be described as a link between the senior people and the new professionals”, said Wang.
Despite his reluctance to leave, he barely had time to say goodbye to his wife and children. “An epidemic is a call, and prevention and control are a responsibility”, thought Wang. The Express Hotel became his second home, although this place was not far from his home, he only could see his children through video calls. It was very hard for Wang, but he did it for the safety of the people.
On February 10th, after learning about the sudden outbreak in the District People’s Hospital, Wang rushed to the scene. His investigation on the matter was coordinated the whole time with the Changzhou Health and Welfare Bureau. Every night, after eating a few bites of his dinner, he returned to his office in order to arrange meetings to discuss epidemic prevention and control.
His duty went beyond medical treatment. From the beginning of the outbreak, Wang organized the prevention and control plans. Wang also went to traffic checkpoints to inspect the health of the medical staff involved and proposed the implementation of the “four early”: early detection, early report, early isolation and early treatment, which showed to be really effective in the diagnose of new patients in the Jinan District People’s Hospital.
Several elderly patients were living in the isolation ward. In order to protect them, he wore protective clothing and check the health and emotional status of every patient. Even if the sweat under the goggles blocked his eyesight and the protective mask made his breathing more difficult, he carefully took note of the situation of every patient.
In order to allow the medical staff to get a full rest in the isolation ward, he submitted a support application. A temporarily backup team was formed and Wang was in charge of the training and evaluation work. “You are in the front line of the epidemic, so it is necessary to protect yourself. Only by doing this, you can protect the safety of the patients” that was his motto during his work.
