Recently, a voice message about COVID-19 has been widely circulated in Chongqing. It is regarded as a "truth-telling act" of a doctor at a designated hospital for Omicron treatment in Chongqing.
The doctor is Chen Yanqiu, deputy director of the Department of Neurology at Yubei District People's Hospital. She was surprised by the large-scale spread of the voice message. She said: "At first. I want to share this voice message with my old classmates about the real fight against Omicron based on my experience to avoid rumors or hindrances to the epidemic prevention and control efforts."
Chen Yanqiu encourages herself, hoping Chongqing will return to normal as soon as possible. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
A chat with old classmates turned into "science popularization"
In this voice message, Chen Yanqiu first talked about COVID-19. She said Omicron, the prevailing subvariant now, features a brief incubation period, high infectivity, and widespread, but most people are asymptomatic. "If those tested positive are not brought together for medical observation, there will be two adverse consequences: first, many people with insufficient awareness will cause large-scale transmission; second, it is highly infectious even if you stay at home and there is no confirmed case around, but why? The virus can be spread through aerosol through toilets or water pipes at home."
Chen Yanqiu (second from left) and colleagues. (Photo provided to iChongqing)
Chen Yanqiu answered the questions proposed by old classmates one by one, such as "COVID-19 and influenza viruses coexist this winter, only a designated hospital rather than a makeshift hospital can take the patients tested positive and with underlying health problems at the same time, and patients with minor or no symptoms are sent to the makeshift hospital for centralized medical observation to cut off the channels of transmission."
"So these messages were out of our chat. I don't know who turned them into a 15-minute-long message and had it forwarded," Chen Yanqiu said.
The designated hospital provides free daily necessities
Yubei District People's Hospital is among the third designated hospitals for COVID-19 treatment in Chongqing. As the head of the ward, Chen Yanqiu is as busy as a bee. She entered the ward at 0:00 on November 17 and left at 4:00. She took the medical staff from Nanchuan District for aid into the ward at 12:00. She entered the ward again at 20:00 and left at 24:00.
"In terms of infection prevention and control at the hospital, we usually stay in the ward for 4-6 hours, but no longer." Chen Yanqiu said that it does not include the time spent putting on and off the protective clothing and returning to the station under closed-loop management, which costs almost nearly 3 hours.
Chen Yanqiu said there are mainly three types of patients in the ward, including those with minor, common, and severe symptoms. Most are mild and get symptomatic treatment. "There are also some critical patients largely due to underlying diseases instead of COVID-19, such as chronic renal failure, stroke, heart disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
She also delivers meals to patients, helps the elderly turnover, and cleans the ward up. "Cleaners are not allowed to enter the ward to avoid infection, but someone has to do this," Chen Yanqiu said. Therefore, they will strictly follow the standards for medical waste disposal, collect the domestic waste from the garbage bins in the ward, and seal the bags properly.
Chen Yanqiu said that the hospital provides daily meals, milk, and eggs for the patients in the ward. All supplies are provided free of charge, including washbasins, hair dryers, etc.
The couple has been fighting the epidemic since early October
Besides Chen Yanqiu, her husband, Gou Huaiyu, works at Yubei District People's Hospital. She is in the Department of Neurology, and her husband is in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine. Since the outbreak at Joy City in Yubei District in early October, the couple has not taken a rest.
"Although we are only a few bus stops away, we cannot see each other." Chen Yanqiu said their eldest son is 16 years old and can take care of himself, but the younger son is only seven years old and has to take online classes.
"If I get off work early and it's daytime, I can video chat with my child. As for the class, we hope that he is self-disciplined." Chen Yanqiu said that her children repeatedly asked her, "Mom, when will you come back?"
"Like me, all the medical staff have parents and children." Chen Yanqiu hoped they would get more support despite all the hard work.
On the day of the interview, Chen Yanqiu's father had his 74th birthday. The hospital sent a cake to the old man in her name, which amazed her.
Upon seeing the photo of her father making a wish, she also made one: "I hope that the epidemic can be overcome soon, and we will tide it over with united efforts!"