Secure lives in Shanghai's temporary hospitals

SHANGHAI -- The hard work of medical workers has guaranteed orderly life for patients in the temporary hospitals all over Shanghai, a metropolis that has recently been hit hard by COVID-19.

"We will do our best to accompany you through this journey, please do the same yourself," a medical worker said, comforting a woman expecting to give birth.

The woman was a patient in the Lingang temporary hospital, and medical teams there designed emergency plans and were prepared to deliver the baby.

Despite their emergency planning, the woman was later transferred to a designated hospital and gave birth at half an hour after midnight on Sunday, just two hours after the makeshift hospital had noticed an abnormality in her condition.

In order to effectively contain the spread of the pandemic, Shanghai has built over 100 temporary hospitals for COVID-19 treatment, with over 160,000 beds available. The impact of the pandemic on people's lives has also been minimized.

A parent-child zone has been established for children who test positive, so that their parents can accompany them in hospital.

"I was worried about being separated from my kid before I came here," said the mother of a child called Meng Meng. The mother and daughter were sent to the temporary hospital in the Shanghai New International Expo Centre on April 3, where they are staying together in the same room.

There are more than 300 children in the expo center. They have designated areas for games such as jump rope and shuttlecock kicking.

Children are never without necessary supplies such as milk, diapers and toys. They even have printers to print out their test papers.

Children like to take photos with medics as souvenirs. Meng Meng has made a series of short videos introducing the facilities in the hospital, and she has shared them online. "I don't worry anymore," her mother said.

In another zone in the expo center, medical staff from Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province that was once hit hard by the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020, can sometimes be seen leading patients to perform square dancing.

Square dancing is a physical activity popular among middle-aged and retired women, who perform natural movements to a musical accompaniment in open spaces in cities.

"The dance was popularized in Wuhan's temporary hospitals, as it can help people with mild symptoms to relax and exercise, and is helpful for their recovery," said Li Zhiqiang, vice president of the Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, also the leader of the hospital's medical team assisting Shanghai with its battle against COVID-19.

To make up for the shortage of medical manpower in Shanghai and ensure the operations of temporary hospitals, medics from provincial-level regions nationwide have rushed to Shanghai.

About a week ago, the China Flower Expo park in Chongming District opened as a temporary hospital with over 2,700 beds, and received its first group of mild cases and asymptomatic carriers. The medical teams working there are from hospitals in Shanghai and Anhui Province.

"We must pay attention to the psychological condition of all patients," Zhu Minghua, a medical worker from Anhui, said in a speech before work began.

Zhu and his teammates arrived at the hospital just hours before it was up and running, and immediately began busy preparations.

"We are working at a fast pace every day because there is a lot to do," one of Zhu's teammates said.

Dai Juan, a nurse from Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, said she and her collogues work four hours in one shift, and many of them have no rest between shifts.

"We are here for one reason. As long as the patients recover, we will be satisfied," said Han Dong, a surgeon at Huashan Hospital, which is affiliated with Fudan University.