Meet the doctors working round the clock to battle China’s coronavirus outbreak
- Specialist in Shanghai says 2019-nCoV could be the most contagious disease she has ever faced
- But doctor in Guangzhou says ‘it’s not as bad as Sars’
“We were prepared to deal with them, but this time the Wuhan virus is more serious than any of them. It’s more infectious and more deadly than I thought just last week.”
Helen, who works in the fever clinic, said that “first-tier prevention” measures for medical staff – which require doctors to wear isolation gowns and surgical masks – were introduced on Monday, as they have been at other hospitals in the city.
During her latest 24-hour shift, which ended on Tuesday, Helen said she saw more than 100 patients – almost twice as many as on a regular day – as all staff were on high alert and any patients with even a slightly raised temperature were being referred to her clinic for further checks.
The doctor said she had eaten only one bowl of instant noodles during her shift and had almost no sleep.
“There are only three doctors in the fever clinic. Our hospital recently allocated some doctors from the emergency and internal medicine department to share the workload but we’re still short on manpower,” she said.