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William Zheng

Laurie Chen

Doctors and nurses in Wuhan are risking their lives in more ways than one.
China has taken unprecedented steps to fight the deadly coronavirus outbreak that started in the central China city, including locking down a province of 60 million people, but on the front line of the battle in hospital wards, doctors and nurses say they lack basic supplies and face physical threats from panicking patients.
One doctor at a Wuhan hospital said he had not been home for two weeks and even during a recent midnight shift he had 150 patients lined up at the outpatient clinic.
“All patients are anxious. Some became desperate after waiting for hours in the cold,” he said.
“I heard one in the queue say he had waited for so long that he wanted to stab us. I am worried. Killing a few of us will not reduce the queue, right?”


His concerns about violence are understandable. On Wednesday, two doctors at Wuhan Fourth Hospital were beaten up by a family member of a patient with pneumonia caused by the virus. One of the doctor’s protective clothing was ripped in the infected zone, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
“Emotions are running high as the hospital has been running at maximum capacity since early January. Many cannot find a bed. But what can we do?” said the doctor, who requested his name not be published as he is not authorised to speak on the matter.
“Doctors and nurses are working non-stop, even the midnight shift is totally full. We are surrounded by patients coughing next to us all night long.”
China goes global in search for protective suits, masks and goggles
As of Friday, more than 9,600 people in mainland China had been confirmed as being infected with the virus, with 213 deaths. The number of infections has surpassed the total reported in the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic of 2002-03.
The World Health Organisation on Thursday declared the outbreak in China a global public health emergency, citing the potential of the virus to spread to countries lacking the capabilities to deal with it.


Beijing said it had mobilised more than 6,000 medical personnel to help exhausted colleagues in Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital. China’s army, navy and air force have also sent doctors to reinforce the three main hospitals treating patients in the city.
But even after 500,000 medical staff in Hubei cancelled their Lunar New Year holidays over the past week, as 60 per cent of China’s confirmed infections and 95 per cent of the deaths from the virus have been in Hubei, hospitals are reaching breaking point.

Army doctors were providing important backup, but hospitals were still short-staffed, said a person familiar with the operation.
“Too many patients need to be treated, too many tests need to be done, everybody is busy. But with our team in there, at least the Wuhan comrades can have one or two more hours’ sleep,” the person said on condition of anonymity.
Xinhua reported earlier that teams from the Army Medical University in Chongqing were treating more than 72 patients confirmed as being infected with the coronavirus at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan.


Other medical workers in the city said the supply of essential gear had improved but was still far from sufficient.
A doctor at Tongji Hospital, who asked not to be named, said he had worn the same protective clothing for a 10-hour shift, because of the shortages.
“The gear needs to be changed every time we come out of an [infected] zone,” he said.
“I wear adult diapers and try to drink less water during the shift, so that I don’t have to go to the washroom. This is common among my colleagues.”
Men may be more prone to coronavirus than women, study finds
Wuhan’s official newspaper Yangtze Daily reported on Sunday that the city had received 10,000 packs of protective clothing, 800,000 N95 respiration masks, 5 million disposable masks and 4,200 pairs of goggles.
“The supplies were basically adequate. The shortage has been alleviated,” the report said.
But the Tongji Hospital doctor said there was also an issue with the quality of the equipment being supplied.
“We’ve learned from experience that some low quality equipment just breaks,” he said. “I’m not sure who bought those for the hospital, as they could lead to the deaths of doctors and nurses.”


On Thursday, a doctor from the neurosurgery unit at Wuhan Union Hospital said on Weibo – China’s Twitter-like platform – that the hospital was in desperate need of medical supplies, including goggles, single-use protective suits and N95 respirator masks.
“Our supplies are nearly all used up! Please forward this, sorry for always disturbing everyone!”
The post also included an appeal for financial donations, and included bank account details and the phone numbers of the hospital employees people should contact.
One of the contacts, a man surnamed Cheng, said single-use protective suits were most in demand.


“Without protective suits, doctors cannot come into contact with patients or treat them at all, so it’s greatly affecting our work,” he said.
“We go through a huge number of these suits a day. We initially received a lot of public donations after our first request for help, but we found that many of them didn’t fit medical guidelines and could not be used.”
Cheng said that the doctors at Wuhan Union Hospital were coping despite the huge strain on resources.
“After all, our job is to serve society,” he said, adding that he too had been working 15- and 16-hour days.

Several videos of overworked Wuhan doctors having emotional breakdowns have been shared on social media in recent days.
Another doctor said he and his colleagues had discovered that management and administration staff had taken more face masks from the hospital’s supplies than they had.
“I’m angry. The frontline is short of supplies but the bosses are taking so many of them. Shouldn’t we be given a higher priority?” he said.
“The bosses inspecting our hospital are wearing top notch N95 masks, while frontline doctors and nurses only have the regular ones. What else can I say?”

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Coronavirus pandemic

Wuhan doctors beaten up, overworked, under supplied

Doctors in Wuhan are working around the clock and against the odds to battle the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Xinhua

(200131) -- BEIJING, Jan. 31, 2020 (Xinhua) -- A member of the medical team of the Second Military Medical University puts on protective clothing at Hankou Hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 27, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

Medical staff in protective suits treat a patient with pneumonia caused by the new coronavirus at the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, in Wuhan, Hubei province, China January 27, 2020. Picture taken January 27, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. CHINA OUT.

Paper on human transmission of coronavirus sets off social media storm in China

New research has found the virus was being transmitted between humans from mid-December, but authorities said there was no evidence of that at the time. Photo: AFP

227 Chinese stranded overseas set to arrive home on Friday night, Beijing says

Wuhan residents are screened as they prepare to board their flight home at Kota Kinabalu International Airport in Malaysia on Friday evening. Photo: Handout

Stranded Wuhan residents waiting to board chartered flight in Kota Kinabalu. Photo: Handout

Coronavirus: Chinese health experts warn patients can get reinfected

A person suspected of having the coronavirus is carried from a flat in Wuhan by medical staff. Photo: AFP

Close up view of Leishenshan Hospital during construction in Wuhan, Hubei, China January 29, 2020. Picture taken January 29, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. MUST NOT OBSCURE LOGO.

Coronavirus: Global health emergency declared by World Health Organisation, reversing earlier decision on outbreak

Commuters wearing masks exit the Bangkok Mass Transit System in Thailand’s capital on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), left, and Professor Didier Houssin, Chair of Emergency Committee, right, talk to the media at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a new deadly virus which originated from China a "global health emergency." China, where the coronavirus emerged, has reported 170 deaths and at least 7,800 infections from the infection. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

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Medical workers treating people infected with the coronavirus in the central China city say they are fighting more than just a virus outbreak
Doctor says he overheard a waiting patient threaten to stab someone … but ‘killing a few of us will not reduce the queue, right?’



Medical workers treating people infected with the coronavirus in the central China city say they are fighting more than just a virus outbreak.


Wuhan doctors beaten up, overworked, under supplied

Medical workers treating people infected with the coronavirus in the central China city say they are fighting more than just a virus outbreak Doctor says he overheard a waiting patient threaten to stab someone … but ‘killing a few of us will not reduce the queue, right?’

Medical workers treating people infected with the coronavirus in the central China city say they are fighting more than just a virus outbreak

Doctor says he overheard a waiting patient threaten to stab someone … but ‘killing a few of us will not reduce the queue, right?’