Source:
https://scmp.com/article/419513/sacrifice-health-care-workers-will-not-be-forgotten

The sacrifice of health-care workers will not be forgotten

Battling a deadly new virus, frontline medics gave their lives to save others

As Hong Kong yesterday celebrated being taken off the WHO list of Sars-affected areas, it remembered the 296 victims, including eight medical workers who died from the disease.

The legislator for the medical sector, Lo Wing-lok, said that in the initial stage of the outbreak, Hong Kong was overwhelmed and the health sector did not know how to deal with the new disease.

'In the face of this unknown enemy, the battle was finally won, all thanks to the professionalism and immense courage of our frontline health-care workers. In many cases, they risked their lives to save others.'

David Hui Shu-cheong, associate professor of the department of medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong said: 'They all took part in the battle despite knowing the dangers they were putting themselves in and some even sacrificed themselves for patients.'

Among the 296 fatalities, there were eight health-care workers.

Of these, four were doctors. James Lau Tai-kwan, 56, and Thomas Cheung Sik-hin, 58, were both private doctors while Joanna Tse Yuen-man, 35, and Kate Cheng Ha-yan, 30, worked in public hospitals.

Lau, a paediatric surgeon, was the first to succumb to the virus. He was believed to have been infected by one of his patients who had to be admitted to the private Baptist Hospital after being refused admission to the public Princess Margaret Hospital.

Lau is survived by his wife and child, who is a final year medical student.

Cheung, a nose and throat specialist, dedicated his life to serving people through the medical profession and music. As vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Medical Association Orchestra, he often organised charity concerts to help others.

Tse, of Tuen Mun Hospital, was one of the first public doctors who volunteered to take care of Sars patients, selflessly exposing herself to the risks.

She was fatally infected along with a male nurse, Lau Wing-kai, while trying to resuscitate a Sars patient.

Cheng, of Tai Po Hospital, was the youngest of eight medics who died in the line of duty. One of her last wishes was to donate her medical books to the University of Hong Kong where she studied.

The other four medics were male nurse Lau Wing-kai, 38, and three health-care assistants, Wong Kang-tai, 58, Tang Heung-may, 36 and Lau Kam-yung, 47.

Lau Wing-kai was the first medic whose life was taken by Sars.

The father-of-one died after contracting the virus from the Sars patients he was nursing.

Wong was a nursing assistant at the Prince of Wales Hospital, the epicentre of the outbreak when it first broke in March.

Colleagues remember her as an extremely dedicated worker who never took a day off work in 19 years.

Tang, a health-care assistant at the United Christian Hospital was infected on April 1 by a patient who had not yet shown any Sars symptoms.

Lau Kam-yung, was a health-care assistant at the United Christian Hospital who caught Sars from the same patient as Tang.

Married with two children, she was described as a loving, motherly figure.

She was known to her colleagues as 'Mother Yung'.

The eight medical workers were all buried at Gallant Garden - the government's burial ground for official heroes - with the highest honours.