Heroes' welcome for hundreds of medics back home in Shanxi

Health workers saved more than 1,300 lives in Hubei amid coronavirus pneumonia epidemic

In recent days, a total of 662 medical workers returned to Shanxi from Hubei as the novel coronavirus epidemic was under control in this once hardest-hit province.

The first group of 230 medics went home on March 19 from their lifesaving mission in Hubei. The second batch of 432 people returned on March 23.

When they landed at Wusu International Airport in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, they were welcomed as heroes by the local residents, airport staffers and the police.

After the medics boarded buses to the center of Taiyuan, they were escorted by police cars. The gesture was seen as the highest homage made by locals.

There was the same fanfare when they left Hubei. On the roads to Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, the medics noticed there were posters with words of thanks.

People lined the road, singing their best wishes. Every traffic policeman saluted them when their fleet of buses passed.

The medics also found their smartphones filled with messages of gratitude from their recovered patients.

Earlier in the morning when they left their hotels in Wuhan, Qianjiang, Xiantao and Tianmen cities, the medics were sent off at farewell ceremonies held by their colleagues and local government officials in Hubei.

The fellow medics in Hubei were reluctant to say goodbye to their comrades with whom they had worked for almost two months.

On the morning of March 19, Zhang Lihui, head of a rescue team to Wuhan, found it difficult to release her hands, which were held tightly by Mei Hongbin, president of Wuhan Youfu Hospital where she had served.

With tears in her eyes, Mei almost failed to complete a sentence. "I really hate to say goodbye. But I know your family is waiting for you anxiously," Mei said.

"Take care of yourself, my elder sister. I'm sure we can see each other in the future," Zhang answered.

The 662 medical workers who returned home are based in hospitals in Taiyuan, Datong, Yuncheng, Jincheng, Changzhi, Linfen, Yangquan, Lyuliang, Jinzhong and Xinzhou.

The 12th medical team from Shanxi was the first to complete its mission in Hubei province. On March 11, the last patient was transferred to another hospital from the Central South Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University where the team served.

However, the 171 medical workers in the team volunteered to continue at the Leishenshan Hospital, a makeshift hospital dedicated to treating novel coronavirus pneumonia patients.

"I am proud of the dedication of our guys as they did a great job living up to the expectations of the Hubei people," said Wang Cailing, one of the leaders of the team.

Shanxi has dispatched 13 medical teams to Hubei, with 1,516 medical workers having served at 11 permanent and five makeshift hospitals.

According to Shanxi Daily, a Taiyuan-based newspaper, the Shanxi medics have cured 1,328 patients in the three Hubei cities of Tianmen, Xiantao and Qianjiang. They includes 166 people in a critical condition.

In Tianmen, the last confirmed patient was cured and discharged from hospital on March 21. At hospitals in Xiantao and Qianjiang, 94.96 percent and 94.44 percent of the novel coronavirus patients were cured.

To date, there were no infections among the medical teams' members from Shanxi, according to the newspaper.

A total of 854 medical workers from Shanxi are still working in Hubei, continuing their efforts in local epidemic control.