'Virus hunters' race against time in East China

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

(ECNS) -- Medical workers at Zhenhai District Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province, have been devoted to the fight against COVID-19 since the first local case of a new surge was reported on Dec. 5, 2021.

They were called COVID-19 "virus hunters."

Yan Kedong, an office head of the center, has been committed to investigating and analyzing the COVID-19 situation and making response plans since Dec. 5.

Like Yan, medical staff shoulder the responsibilities of epidemiological investigation, isolation of COVID-19 cases and close contacts, virus tracing, collection and detection of swab specimens, disinfection, etc.

However, as more people and places are involved in the outbreak, the epidemiological investigation becomes even more difficult, so Yan and his colleagues have to work late.

Chen Zhuan, a sampler of the center, takes charge of collecting samples from confirmed cases and their close contacts.

"We deal with the COVID-19 virus every day," said Chen. Sampling for four or five hours in a row without stopping in personal protective equipment (PPE) makes Chen and other medical workers have to put up with hunger and thirsty.

Cai Xi takes charge of virus detection. "My responsibility is to find out the type of COVID-19 virus," said Cai. COVID-19 virus detection is extremely risky, which needs to be carried out in a PCR laboratory, and the testers need protection of biosafety level three. It takes them about half an hour to put on and take off PPE, plus a huge number of samples, so they hardly drink water, go to the bathroom or leave the laboratory. They usually have to work continuously for four to five hours in PPE.

Besides, there are medical workers who carry out disinfection work in places related to confirmed cases and their close contacts, such as corridors, streets, infected houses, etc. Zeng Fanfu, a member of the disinfection team, said, "Disinfecting infected houses is a face-to-face battle with the virus."

As virus samples are sent to the laboratory of the center, "virus hunters" continue their work to ensure the safety of local people.