Rescue workers at Wuhan hospital: on the front line, with no time to spare

Members of a 120 First Aid team disinfect their ambulance and themselves after a full day’s work at a disinfection station of Wuhan Urgent-care Center in Hubei province, on Jan 26. Photo by Yuan Zheng and Gao Xing/ China Daily/Asia News Network

BEIJING — At Wuhan No 4 Hospital, Hubei province, two medical staff on the front line of the battle against the coronavirus worked nonstop during Spring Festival to save the lives of infected patients.

Nurse Zhang Jing, 40, and the ambulance driver, surnamed Hu, are members of a 120 First Aid team, who worked 12 hours without rest from 8 am till 8 pm on Jan 26. Whenever a 120 call was made for help, the rescue team drove to a patient’s home through the empty streets of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, with little regard for their personal safety.

Zhang, who has two mobile phones, makes at least 300 phone calls a day to arrange for patients to come to the hospital. The two mobiles always run out of power after a whole day’s work. She hardly had any time to reply to WeChat messages from her daughter on Jan 24, the eve of Spring Festival, and simply told her she was fine and extremely busy.

Zhang has been a nurse for 20 years and was involved in rescue work during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.

Members of a 120 First Aid team work on the streets of Wuhan. Photo by Yuan Zheng and Gao Xing/China Daily/Asia News Network

A patient arrives at Wuhan No 4 Hospital with a relative and medical rescue team members’ help on Jan 26. Photo by Yuan Zheng and Gao Xing/China Daily/Asia News Network

Zhang (left) and Hu have their dinner in the hospital after a busy working day. Photo by Yuan Zheng and Gao Xing/China Daily/Asia News Network