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The ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak in China is not only taking a hit on the lives of the infected but every one alike. Here are stories of some ordinary Chinese across the nation under the shadow of the epidemic.
WUHAN, HUBEI PROVINCE, HEART OF THE EPIDEMIC
"Hi, comrades, I haven't peed today," Xu Zhaojuan said in a message in a WeChat work group at 8:00 p.m.
"My shift began at 3:00 a.m. and I didn't drink water for 10 hours to avoid using the restroom. Although I drank a lot of water after work, I still didn't need to use the bathroom," she wrote.
Xu, from eastern China's Shandong Province, is among tens of thousands of medics joining the fight against the novel coronavirus in Hubei, the hardest-hit province.
"We call each other comrades because we are all super fighters once we put the hazmat suits on," she said.
China, especially the city of Wuhan, is plagued by the novel coronavirus outbreak that hit in late December when most people were preparing to welcome the Spring Festival, the biggest celebration of the year.
The latest figure showed the overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 70,548 by the end of Sunday, with over half in Wuhan. Meanwhile, a total of 1,770 people had died of the disease and 7,264 people were still suspected of being infected with the virus, according to the National Health Commission (NHC).
The rise of confirmed cases meant hospitals in Wuhan were severely short of hands and protective gear as some plants suspended operation.
As medical workers change their hazmat suit each time they go to the restroom, many medics at the frontline would rather wear diapers and drink little to no water to save the number used. "The workload of being a nurse is very heavy. I don't even have time to sit down," said Xu. "I'm often dehydrated after wrapping up a day's work."
"This is not a glorious thing," she smiled shyly. With that said, she put on her "superwoman gown" again and hurried to work.
As of Friday last week, China had dispatched a total of 217 medical teams with 25,633 medical workers to central China's Hubei Province to help combat the novel coronavirus. Of them, 20,374 are working in Wuhan, said Wang Hesheng, deputy head of the NHC.
BAISHAN CITY, NORTHEAST CHINA'S JILIN PROVINCE
"Safe," Zhang Xianmin, a local police chief in Fusong County on the foot of the Changbai Mountain, texted his wife late into the night.
They have not seen each other for three weeks. Their kids -- an eight-year-old daughter and a 20-month-old son, have been sent to their grandparents in the countryside as the couple is at the frontlines of the battle against the epidemic.
Zhang and his colleagues work around the clock and are responsible for inspecting vehicles, taking temperatures for local residents, mediating disputes and assisting the community and the center for disease prevention and control in isolating suspected patients.
"We must ensure that every vehicle and resident is covered to curb the spread of the virus to the greatest degree possible," he said.
Jiao Fei, Zhang's wife, works at the local market regulation department. "We must guarantee the quality of the products and enough supplies of daily commodities available on the market," said Jiao. "The kids are doing fine at their grandparents' house, set your heart at rest," she texted back.
Unable to meet while still living in the same city, Zhang and Jiao's story is not an uncommon one as China's battle against the epidemic continues.
NANNING, SOUTH CHINA'S GUANGXI ZHUANG AUTONOMOUS REGION
Yang Xinfen, 39, took her temperature and was relieved to find it green -- meaning normal. She then put on a mask, took a bottle of alcohol, waved goodbye to her daughter and began a typical day as a part-time food deliverywoman.
The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus has stricken many unexpectedly and cooped up them at home with inadequate daily commodities. "In addition to delivering meals, orders for daily necessities and vegetables have increased recently," she said.
It has been more than three weeks since the Spring Festival, but Nanning, like the rest of the nation, is still exceptionally quiet during the day. But work and life cannot be so easily paused by the virus.
Yang soon received an order to pick up Chinese herbal medicines purchased online by a customer. She waited for one and a half hours in the queue and disinfected the package carefully.
"We take every precaution for each order and deliver them safely," said Yang. "I got an order days ago for some daily necessities and sent them to Guangzhou. When the order was finished, the customer couldn't stop thanking me. At that moment, I felt that all my hard work was worth it," she said.
Yang received four orders that day, rode 28 km and came back at around 7 p.m. She parked the car, hung her coat outside the door and sprayed her hands with alcohol before opening the door and reaching out to embrace her daughter.
SUZHOU, EAST CHINA'S JIANGSU PROVINCE
Yuan Chuanwei has been a one-man show for over 10 days. On Jan. 26, one day after the Spring Festival when he was on vacation in his home city of Yancheng, he received a call for an order for 1,000 hydrogen peroxide sterilizers from his factory in Suzhou. The sterilizers, which were urgently needed in hospitals in Hubei, had to be delivered no later than Feb. 12.
The company's employees, mainly from Henan and Fujian, had returned to their hometowns for the Spring Festival, and they did not have enough materials in stock. "I agreed to produce 200 sets of sterilizers. It's what we can do to contribute to the prevention and control of the epidemic," he said.
The one-man factory soon began operation. Yuan worked day and night and only took a nap on the sofa when tired. The 200 sterilizers usually take five workers 15 days to finish, and Yuan had them half done in 10 days on his own. "I can finish it in time," he said.
Now the equipment has been put into use in hospitals in Hubei, and Yuan is developing a new type of sterilizer. "I believe that through our efforts, the outbreak will definitely recede and our future will be better and better," said Yuan.
