Fighting the Epidemic with "Warm" Figures Gathering HeYou Strength

At a nucleic acid testing site, the distance from the queuing area to the sampling area was nearly 100 meters. Teachers and students wore masks, maintained a one-meter distance, and queued orderly for testing. This scene epitomized the large-scale nucleic acid testing efforts in Shunde District over the past week. Behind this efficiency and speed lay the united efforts of medical staff, department workers, and community volunteers fighting on the front line of nucleic acid testing.

Recently, various hospitals have dispatched support teams to nucleic acid testing sites across Shunde. Since April 11, the Meihe Hospital, affiliated with the HeYou International Hospital project, has also formed nucleic acid testing support teams, deploying four times to sampling sites such as the Huoli Sports Center, Shangliao Cultural Square, and Xijiao Cultural Park in Beijiao Town.

Lift your head, relax, and open your mouth wide. The sampling staff performed throat swab tests for residents, with each sampling taking no more than 60 seconds. Although the sampling staff were close to the residents, their faces were unrecognizable, and their genders were indistinguishable. Wearing N95 masks, disposable caps, airtight protective suits, and finally double gloves and face shields... this was the full protective gear of the sampling staff, earning them the affectionate nickname "Big White" from the residents.

I Am Not Sister, I Am Uncle!

"Thank you, sister," "Haha, I am not sister, I am uncle"... At the Huoli Sports Center in Beijiao Town, sampling staff Feng Liantao encountered this "mistaken identity" more than three times, but these words left a deep impression on him. The sincere eyes and sweet voices of the children made the entire day's hard work more meaningful.

From 8:30 to 21:30, this marathon-like nucleic acid testing saw an average daily sampling volume of over 800 people per person. During this period, they experienced 40 glove changes and 800 hand sanitizations. "After a whole day, the pain in my hand joints grew stronger," Feng Liantao joked, adding that despite doing the same work, his physical strength could not match that of the younger staff.

At the testing site, he was a front-line sampling staff member, fighting alongside everyone else; at Meihe Hospital, he was the Senior Professional Manager of Medical Affairs, leading by example while fulfilling his duties. When emergency nucleic acid testing tasks arose, he had to be the first to step forward. From the end of March to April, from schools to communities, he had already participated in three nucleic acid testing support missions.

As a member of a dual-medical-worker family, while he fought on the nucleic acid testing front line in Shunde, his wife, a nurse, was fighting on the nucleic acid testing front line in Zhaoqing. Although they were in different cities, they were engaged in equally meaningful work. This might be their romantic life.

Feng Liantao stated that if there were more nucleic acid testing support missions, he would still be the first to rush forward, not only because of his family's support but also because of the influence of his colleagues. This group of young people at Meihe Hospital could always find a positive breakthrough in difficult environments, infecting everyone around them with their full spirit.

First Time Entering a Village and Serving as Team Leader

Lei Shaoyi is from Huanggang, Hubei, and had lived in Shunde for less than a month. As a newly recruited medical staff member, he is a laboratory technician in the Medical Technology and Laboratory Department of Meihe Hospital, responsible for relevant testing work in the hospital's physical examination center.

From the laboratory to the villages of Shunde, this was his first time participating in nucleic acid testing support work in Shunde, and also his first time serving as the team leader of a sampling group, leading 15 colleagues to Shangliao Village in Beijiao Town for nucleic acid testing.

At Shangliao Cultural Square, the medical staff were already in position early in the morning. They put on their protective suits in designated areas and made various preparations. As the team leader, Lei Shaoyi had to communicate with the staff of the community health service center on-site, coordinating issues such as the testing site, personnel and material allocation, and sampling procedures.

"On-site conditions were limited, and everyone came from different hospitals, so we needed to achieve coordination in a short time," said Lei Shaoyi, a "newcomer," who felt the on-site work efficiency. From the queuing location to the standardization of the sampling process, he could see his colleagues actively communicating, which made him more at ease and better able to devote himself to front-line sampling work.

In fact, as early as May 2020, he had participated in a nucleic acid testing campaign for all senior high school students in Huanggang, Hubei. At that time, the testing was conducted in an open-air playground under the scorching sun, with sweat pouring inside the protective suits. Comparing this to his previous experience, Lei Shaoyi believed that the nucleic acid testing site in Shangliao Village this time was already quite comfortable. In the temporary battlefield built with tents, there were fans, ice buckets for cooling, and cooperative villagers. Although it was still very hot, his heart felt much cooler.

Proudest Moment: Being "Recognized"!

Sweating profusely inside the white battle suit, with willpower as strong as steel under the blazing sun, this was the on-site work experience summarized by Huang Fuping, the chief pharmacist of the Western Pharmacy at Meihe Hospital. At outdoor testing sites, especially during the period from 12:30 to 17:00, when the outdoor temperature was highest, reaching 32°C, it was a test of willpower.

Wrapped in thick "Big White suits" in the hot weather, with marks from masks and goggles left on his face, Huang Fuping had a deep understanding of this. At the Xijiao Cultural Park testing site, he served as a team leader for the first time. In addition to performing throat swab tests for residents, he also had to shuttle between various areas on-site for communication and coordination. Wrapped in the "Big White suit" and moving under the scorching sun, the result was that the skin on his arms was still sunburned. He could only let his skin breathe fresh air during breaks when he took off the "Big White suit."

Front-line sampling work was hot, tiring, and hard, but it also brought unexpected surprises. On the evening of April 15, responding to a notice from higher authorities, Huang Fuping and four other colleagues went to a residential community for nucleic acid testing. When residents saw "HeYou Meihe" written on their backs, they started talking, "So you are medical staff from HeYou Meihe Hospital. I know this hospital; I have been there for treatment. Thank you so much for coming here after work to serve us. With you here, we feel more at ease."

His tired body immediately relaxed upon hearing these words. Huang Fuping said he specially shared this experience with his colleagues, suggesting that everyone write "HeYou Meihe" on the back of their protective suits in the future, so that more residents could feel their sincere dedication and also motivate themselves to participate more actively in front-line support services.

"12 Years of Party Membership" Giving Full Effort

"I am a Communist Party member, with 12 years of party membership. Participating in front-line nucleic acid testing is an unshirkable responsibility and duty." Xiong Bin, a specialized nurse for operating rooms jointly trained by Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau, has been in the profession for 10 years and has been a party member for 12 years. Before joining the Meihe Hospital family, she was actively involved in anti-epidemic work. Now, as a part of Meihe Hospital, she continues this sense of responsibility, actively participating in various volunteer activities of the hospital.

When talking about her participation in front-line sampling work, she remembered two things vividly. After finishing sampling at a kindergarten, the children danced to express their gratitude. At that moment, she was deeply touched. Seeing the innocent and pure eyes of the children, all her hard work was worth it. Another time, a child who might have had a cold vomited during sampling, with vomit spraying out. Fortunately, the face shield blocked it. Although the "Big White suit" was heavy and stuffy, it could better protect herself and the residents in critical moments.

Xiong Bin enthusiastically introduced the achievements of her colleagues. Wu Haimei was once an anti-epidemic warrior, participating in external sampling, hospital sampling, and support for Beijiao Town Government without missing a single one. At the Beijiao Huoli Square nucleic acid testing site, Feng Fan held her post until the last moment, earning the title of "Most Beautiful Guardian Angel." There were also Feng Zhenzhen, Huang Wei, Wang Ziyu, Cao Shuzhen, Yu Keqian, Deng Fei, Chen Yapei, Hou Ailin, Wang Peng, Wu Jingjing, Chen Shuang, Xie Yingya, Li Nan, Cheng Fan, Yi Yunping, Zou Yanwen, Chen Shuang, and all colleagues in the Physical Examination Department. While supporting the town government's nucleic acid testing work, they also held the fort at the hospital. Every colleague at Meihe was contributing their strength to the fight against the epidemic, and everyone was excellent.

Responding to the government's call, the Meihe Hospital support team set off again, heading to designated schools in Beijiao Town to provide nucleic acid testing services, contributing to the fight against the epidemic. On April 16, to facilitate the return to school of teachers and students in primary, secondary, and kindergarten (nursery) institutions, Beijiao Town organized a special nucleic acid testing session for school teachers and students across the town. The medical staff of Meihe Hospital hoped to use their caring, warm, and reassuring services to make residents feel warmth and tenderness, building a strong defense line for the masses against the epidemic.