The new Wuhan coronavirus has been spreading to various countries across the world, including Malaysia where three people from China are currently being quarantined in Sungai Buloh Hospital today.
So far, a total of 1,287 cases were confirmed within China alone, and 41 deaths have been recorded as of yesterday (24th January), as reported on Oriental Daily. It is no longer news for us that Wuhan is undergoing a lockdown due to the severity of the outbreak, but many residents still managed to escape the city, causing havoc in many countries that they travelled to.
With such a huge number of infected individuals, local hospitals were swarmed and the medical staff have been on-call since the outbreak. According to Yahoo News, a total of 15 medical personnel were down with pneumonia, and 1 of them passed away earlier today. It is no doubt that these medical professionals were not only exposed to the virus, but they are severely overworked as well.
A video had been circulating on Chinese social media showing a medical staff breaking down over a phone call (credit: Epoch Times):
In the 1.5 minute video, the man was enraged that his medical team had failed to contact the hospital’s chairman.
“When can we see you? How are we supposed to go home and spend time with our families for the Lunar New Year? What did you even do?”
He even mentioned how his team had to arrange four shifts for one single day, and they had to get back to work right after every meal. They would even be punished if they’re late for their shifts as well.
“Do you think we (doctors) don’t need to live? What are you guys even doing?”
Apparently, his dissatisfaction towards the hospital management did not meet with a satisfactory response from the other end of the phone. He was told to “move the patients who were lying on the ground aside”, and to “go home and get lost”. How can these courageous and selfless medical staff be treated this poorly?
A female staff can then be seen comforting the doctor, but the doctor responded with:
“I’m not making a fuss! The patients are lying there, and there are so many of them. What are we supposed to do?”
We’re absolutely heartbroken to see how medical professionals are suffering because of the outbreak. They have sacrificed their health and time, and also missing out on Lunar New Year just to ensure the affected patients are taken care of. They have our utmost respect.
Also read: Breaking: Three Chinese Citizens In Malaysia Test Positive For Wuhan Coronavirus