Medical school graduate volunteers in virus fight

When Hu Sitong, a 25-year-old medical school graduate, told his girlfriend that he was going to volunteer in the fight against COVID19 in January, she strongly objected.

She explained to him that her mother, a former head nurse at the Changchun Central Hospital in Changchun, Jilin province, had died during the fight against SARS in 2003.

“She cried, saying she didn’t want to lose me in the same way that she lost her mother,” Hu said.

“Although I had no idea about the virus then — actually few people knew about the contagiosity or lethality of it in its infancy — what I knew was that I was a medical student and the combat against the virus outbreak to me was like a fight to a soldier.”

“I believe that if her mother was still alive, she would be pleased,” he added.

Hu, who majored in clinical medicine in Yanbian University in Yanbian Korean autonomous prefecture of Jilin province, signed up to volunteer via the provincial Communist Youth League’s website in January.

Back then, the number of cases and deaths had just started to rise. He was dispatched to work at the airport.

From Jan 30 through Feb 20, Hu worked as a volunteer at the Changchun Longjia International Airport in Changchun, the provincial capital.

He said that despite a little nervousness, he devoted himself to the volunteer work.

Every day from 8:30 am to 4 pm, he would routinely disinfect the airport and take temperatures for passengers at exits and entrances. Those found to have a fever would be directed to the local health commission.

“Dressed in protection suits, we couldn’t wear a thick down jacket, only a sweater and a shirt in temperatures of about -20 C,” Hu said.

“With protection glasses fogging up all the time due to the temperature difference inside and outside the suit, we could hardly see anyone or anything clearly,” he said.

Twice daily, Hu and three other volunteers would tote 20-kilogram equipment around to disinfect the airport, covering the equivalent of several hectares.

Holding a license to practice medicine, Hu considered himself more experienced and professional.

“Not all the volunteers had studied medicine, and I taught them how to put on protection suits,” he said.

Hu also put a lot of effort into convincing his family that he would return safely.

“My parents were unhappy about my applying to volunteer, but I explained a lot about how strict and scientific the team’s management would be, and they finally agreed,” he said.