Two medics pictured working at Aoqian Health Station

“We need more hands to conduct nucleic acid testing now.” On July 13, when a Covid-19 case was confirmed, medics at the Aoqian Health Station of Pingtan were summoned. Pingtan is an island city off E China’s Fujian province.

Putting on protective suits and taking the sampling boxes, the medics rushed to the front line. The battle has just begun.

Sampler Wei Jinmei recalled going door to door before 7 pm to collect nucleic acid samples with her colleagues that day. They didn’t stop until 10 am the following day. They did not eat or drink during these 15 hours until the head nurse “ordered” them to rest.

For medical staff in high-risk areas, when Covid-19 resurged, their biological clocks were “reset.” They stayed on call around the clock.

Knocking on the doors, taking throat swabs, disinfection… These procedures were repeated hundreds of times every day. On average, they worked over 12 hours a day. Wrinkled hands and livid mask marks bore testaments to their heroic acts.

Head nurse Lin Xiaoying recalled when one of her comrades, Huang Ting, suffered from acute stomach pain at the sampling site, the latter merely popped some medicine and continued working. Huang Ting’s case is not alone. Some of them collapsed because of sunstroke. They took a short rest before returning to the battle. 

Sampler Lin Huaxiang has a newborn baby. The baby should have received breastfeeding. Confronted with the pandemic, she chose to stick to her post. “Now, my baby is weaned,” said Lin Huaxiang with guilt.

“Sorry to disturb you so late, Uncle,” sampler Wei Qin knocked on the door and explained. Wei said sometimes they had to start working at one in the morning. She was worried about the inconvenience, but the masses understood and cooperated well.

“Almost every household greeted us with warm words, ‘Thank you for your hard work.’ Some offered water and food,” said Wei Qin with a smile. It was a hard time, but the warmth the masses gave made her feel worthwhile.

Besides, 4 medics remained at the station, providing daily medical service for the masses. During this period, the staff was required to be on standby at their station. They had long gotten used to the odd hours and developed the skill of sneaking power naps- anytime, anywhere.  

10 days later, Pingtan has cleared all medium and high-risk areas and the medical staff has also completed their mission. I am touched that the medics had toiled for the past days, but there was no complaint, said Wu Chaohui, deputy director of the Aoqian Health Station.

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