After dark Wuhan hours, quarantine is well spent

THE first Shanghai medical team finished their 14-day quarantine yesterday after returning from Wuhan, the city hard hit by the novel coronavirus in Hubei Province.

They include 53 members from Shanghai East Hospital who left a designated quarantined hotel in Zhujiajiao in Qingpu District.

A bus took them to the hospital in the afternoon, when the president of the hospital granted each of them a certificate of honor.

“The first thing I’d like to do is to have a family reunion dinner with my parents, wife and daughter,” said Jiang Bo, a team member from the hospital.

He was working continuously at the hospital’s fever clinic during January and then rushed to

Wuhan in early February.

“I will give a tight hug to my daughter who is preparing for the gaokao (national college entrance examination) and thank my wife who has been supporting me,” Jiang said.

After returning to Shanghai, Jiang and other members of the team moved into a quarantined hotel on the city’s outskirts, where life became easier and far more comfortable than their days and nights in Wuhan.

Research papers

The quarantine period was also fruitful for many of the medics.

The members have completed or published multiple research papers about the COVID-19 and are working jointly on a book about their experience fighting against the disease in a makeshift hospital in Wuhan.

Cardiologist Li Xin evaluated the mood, sleep and appetite of each member to not only ensure the mental health of the team but also to prepare a scholarly article about the mental states of the public and medics under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other research papers are about the management of a makeshift hospital, the information technology of a mobile hospital as well as disastrous medical news reports and communication.

The hospital has published four books on COVID-19 prevention.

One of the books, which guides students on how to avoid the virus, has been translated into English and Italian.

During the quarantine time, young members of the team sang karaoke using a mobile app, practiced yoga and gymnastics.

Some of them greeted each other from their balconies or took photos to share on WeChat.

The management of the hotel prepared delicious meals for them, which were left at their doors every day. Many specialties of Shanghai, such as small steamed buns and steamed hairy crabs, have been served to the returned heroes.

“I’ve been gaining weight every day,” said Huang Guoxin, a senior pharmacist.

“I can’t wait to hear my daughter playing the piano at home.”

Zhou Min, another team member, will sit for the postgraduate entrance exam. “I wish I can pass the exam successfully after surviving the darkest days in Wuhan,” she said.

In Wuhan, they

usually worked 12-hour shifts at a hospital renovated from a cultural complex known as the Wuhan Living Room, where they fought the virus for 44 days.

Her colleague Feng Qiang said he was eager to return to work at the hospital and keep contributing to the fight against the COVID-19 in Shanghai.

Hua Jin, another medical staff on the team, noted: “After the experience in Wuhan, I will treasure every minute and second with my family.”

Yu Siyuan, a diving enthusiast, hoped the pandemic would end soon so he can get back into the water.

Many volunteer taxi drivers waited outside the hospital to deliver the medical members home. Many of the members, including Huang, will return to work today right after the end of the quarantine.