Coronavirus outbreak: Volunteer drivers show bravery on front line

BEIJING — Since the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, most people have avoided going out in order to reduce the risk of becoming infected.

Healthy residents know it is vitally important not to go to hospitals in the city, where many infected patients are being treated, unless it is absolutely necessary.

However, a group of local volunteer drivers is doing exactly this by shuttling doctors and nurses between their homes and hospitals free of charge. As these medical professionals are in contact with patients every day, it means that the drivers have an increased risk of exposure to the virus.

Wuhan’s public transportation system－including a subway, buses and ferries－has been suspended since Jan 23, with air and rail links into and out of the city virtually cut off.

Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang said at a news conference on Friday that more than 60,000 medical professionals in the city are treating patients with the virus and working to contain the outbreak.

“I was worried how medical professionals would commute to work. How can soldiers fight a war if they can’t make it to the battlefield?” said Huang Xiaomin, organizer of the Wuhan 123 Volunteer Motorcade, so-named because he came up with the idea on Jan 23.

Along with Huang, some public-spirited citizens in the city have volunteered to drive doctors and nurses to work and to transport medical supplies to hospitals.

Huang said:”As the old saying goes, ‘every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country’. I was born and raised in Wuhan. When the city ‘falls ill’, I feel the responsibility to make a positive effort.

“What I’m doing is like ants at work. I know my own efforts alone are insignificant, but I’m glad that I can help others.”

On Jan 26, the authorities in Wuhan said they had organized 6,000 taxis for communities and 300 buses for medical professionals and others who have to go to work. Medical workers can stay at hospital dormitories or hotels that volunteer to house them. A few hospitals have organized buses for these workers.

“The number of medical professionals in Wuhan is large, as is their demand for transportation. Volunteer drivers are playing an important role in the city,” Huang said.

He has strict rules for the drivers－they must wear masks, gloves, goggles and protective clothing and disinfect their cars each time before they pick up a passenger.

There are some 900 medical professionals in Huang’s motorcade WeChat groups. The coordinators pick up times and destinations to the drivers via WeChat. Passengers have to show their work permit for identification purposes.

“Our motorcade workers have transported these medical professionals about 1,000 times. It’s convenient and comfortable for them to go to work by car, which gives them more time to rest and save energy for work,” Huang said.

He added that those who cannot afford to buy a car, especially young nurses, have had to walk or cycle for one or two hours from home to hospitals. Rain on recent days has made commuting to work more difficult.

Huang rises at 6:15 am and takes some bread to eat in his car. He drinks little water, as it can be difficult to find a public toilet, and braves the early-morning chill to open the vehicle’s windows for ventilation.

“My gloves are soaked in sweat, but when the wind blows, they are soon dry and are as cold as iron. I’m exhausted when I come home at night,” he said.

He only chats with a passenger when he stops at a red light, because when he is driving it can be difficult to hear one another due to the noise of the wind.

He once asked a nurse what she most wanted to do when the outbreak is over, and she said she only desired a long sleep and to drink plenty of water.

According to Huang, the motorcade had about 170 drivers at one time, but now has about 90, many of them born in the 1980s.

“About 5,000 volunteer drivers in Wuhan overall did public service at the start, but now the number has shrunk to about 400, a major reason being that drivers are afraid of becoming infected with the virus, or their children and parents getting infected, as the virus is lethal for the elderly,” he said.

“The biggest difficulty is getting protective gear and disinfectant for our drivers, to ensure safety. These are in short supply in the city. Another challenge is management of a big group of drivers, such as making sure that they obey the safety rules,” he said.

Huang uses his social links and internet sources to find protective gear for the drivers and hospitals, and friends and netizens also make donations.

Huang said another problem is securing supplies before they are snapped up by others. In Wuhan, the price of a 500-milliliter bottle of alcohol disinfectant has risen from less than 9 yuan ($1.28) to 40 yuan.

When the outbreak is over, he wants to form the volunteer motorcade into a team to serve the public.

“I’m confident about the city’s ability to recover, because its citizens fight hard,” he said.

With the number of cases rising rapidly, Huang recently told the drivers to stay at home, but some are still transporting medical professionals or materials.

“I’m under great pressure, because I don’t think I’m qualified to be responsible for their lives. It’s the uncertainty that makes you afraid. Everyone in the city is unsure whether they will become infected.”

Zhou Xiaoyu, 24, who has organized another motorcade staffed by volunteers in Wuhan, is recording their work through short videos, and plans to post these online. He wants others to know that a group of volunteer drivers in the city are working anonymously on the frontline, together with doctors and nurses.

“The words I hear most are greetings from medical professionals, which makes me feel that what I’m doing is significant,” Zhou said.

Drivers are always on the move and feel tired after a day’s work, as moving heavy boxes of medical materials and taking them to hospitals is exhausting work.

A volunteer once had a car accident while transporting medical materials, and the driver, who was sent to a hospital, immediately asked other volunteers to take the materials in his place.

“The voluntary work is tiring, but no one complains. Being a volunteer driver is like taking a gamble with the outbreak. We’re striving to help doctors and nurses and protect ourselves at the same time,” Zhou said.

“I want to pass on this spirit to others－to step forward bravely when your city or country needs you. But I’m worried that drivers may become infected with the virus, because some patients showed no obvious symptoms in the early days. A driver may also spread the virus when he or she has no idea that they are infected.”

The bravery of the volunteer drivers has caught the attention of others.

On Jan 29, Gu Yao, 36, drove for more than 12 hours from his hometown of Yancheng, Jiangsu province, to a highway toll station in Wuhan.

He wanted to join the driving team, but was at a loss until volunteer Wang Zhen met him there. Wang helped him apply for a car pass, gave him protective equipment and disinfectant and arranged accommodations for him.

Gu, who started work with Wang the next day, said: “I read a report that Wuhan was lacking volunteer drivers, so I set off early in the morning and bought masks, food and fruits, without telling my parents what I was doing. I have never considered the potential risk, I just think that such efforts have to be made for the city.”

Wang said: “I’m very touched by Gu, but others should not imitate his actions. This voluntary work is very risky. At this time, everyone can make their contribution simply by staying at home.” He added that the drivers are facing a shortage of protective items such as goggles and infrared thermometers to check their own and their passengers’ safety.

The Wuhan government and domestic businesses have joined such efforts.

This month, the Wuhan branch of the Communist Youth League of China started to recruit healthy volunteers under age 40 for a range of voluntary work, including transporting medical workers and materials.

On Saturday, Alibaba Group’s digital car-hailing service－AutoNavi was launched to transport medical workers in Wuhan to work at all hours free of charge. Drivers, who are volunteers from the city, are equipped with protective equipment.