Zhong Xiaofeng is the head nurse at Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital, one of the first hospitals to treat patients infected with novel coronavirus, and she has not been able to take a day off for weeks.
"We have been receiving patients since Jan. 3. There were not many infections in the beginning, and suddenly, there were lots, and our hospital quickly became full," said Zhong, who works in the ICU unit.
"It is stifling to work in the ICU room, wearing the protective overalls, but we only have a limited number of the suits, so we decided to drink less water and not come out too often to use the restroom," she said.
Nurses often work up to 10 hours with no break in between, and when they emerged from the unit, their clothes were soaked in sweat.
"The hospital has sent doctors and nurses to help us with the job, and 80 percent of the staff that come to our aid are members of the Communist Party of China (CPC)," she said.
"It is not that we are not afraid. Taking care of these patients entails a great risk of exposure, but we all embrace our responsibilities. CPC members in particular shall be the vanguard in the emergency situation," she said.
Amid the outbreak, various levels of the organization departments of the CPC have been urged to play an active role in winning the battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic.
A circular issued recently by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee highlighted a performance assessment of leading officials in the epidemic control. Those who fail to fulfill their responsibilities or behave dishonestly should be held accountable, it said.
Party organizations of public hospitals, relevant universities and research institutes should lead medical workers and specialists to fulfill their duties in medical operations, research and virus prevention, it said, adding that Party members should work at the frontline.
Wang Shoujun, a community worker near Donghu Lake in Wuhan, is battling the virus in another frontline.
"If a resident in my community is quarantined for virus infection, their residence shall be immediately disinfected. That is my job," he said.
"We are not professional health workers, but with expert guidance, we are doing the job pretty well," said the 48-year-old.
Wang works with nine others, all of whom are CPC members.
"I know it is difficult to fight the virus. It is new and it hides well. Everybody is better off staying at home to prevent it from spreading, but some people have to be at the forefront. That is what I'm doing. The CPC membership further urges me to take the role," he said.
Zhou Pan is a manager at the construction site of the Huoshenshan (Fire God Mountain) field hospital, which is expected to house 1,000 beds when it is put into use on Monday.
"Building a field hospital of this size in such a short time, I've never seen anything like this before," he said.
Zhou manages a team of 30 workers, 20 of whom are CPC members. "We are working around the clock. My workers sleep here on the ground against the materials, dozing off for a moment and then going back to work," he said.
He established a temporary Party branch at the site, requiring CPC members to take a leading role in completing each and every task on time with no hitches. "Materials, workload, machinery and logistics -- these procedures shall be planned well to make sure everything goes smoothly," he said.
"I came here on the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year, but my family supports me 100 percent. My wife is also a CPC member," he said.
