South African doctor's faith in anti-epidemic battle

by Xinhua writers Zheng Mengyu and Wu Shuaishuai

HANGZHOU, Feb. 4 (Xinhua)-- At 6:30 p.m. on Feb 1, Brett Lyndall Singh left his office. The coronavirus outbreak makes the city roads quiet and cheerless, with few pedestrians, all wearing masks and rushing to get back to their apartments.

Dr. Brett from South Africa, is a Master’s Graduate majoring in Pediatrics and currently doing clinical practice and research in the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, he could have returned to his hometown to escape the disease, but with nearly nine-years of study and clinical practice in Wenzhou as a medical doctor, he stayed without hesitation.

Wenzhou is a city known for its merchants throughout China and the world. According to incomplete statistics, Wenzhou has nearly 2.5 million people living outside the city. Before the Spring Festival, about 20,000 Wenzhou people who were working and doing business in Wuhan, Hubei province--the epicenter of the novel coronavirus-- returned to Wenzhou, a Wenzhou local official said in an interview.

Wenzhou has the highest number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in China outside Hubei province. According to the National Health Commission of China, a total of 291 confirmed cases of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus were reported in Wenzhou as of 24:00 on February 2.

Even as the number of confirmed cases is rising and the city became more tightly managed, Brett stayed on his job. 

In 2011, Brett came to China. Determined to study medicine as a child, he received an invitation from the School of International Studies of Wenzhou Medical University to study in China. Years of hard work and dedication have enabled him to speak fluent Chinese. Since 2016, Brett has worked as a clinical intern in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, where he has been in contact with more than 50 pediatric patients every day. Over the past three years, many people in Wenzhou have been treated by this foreign doctor.

After the outbreak, Brett voluntarily stayed in Wenzhou and joined the battle with the novel coronavirus. "I am a doctor and the citizens here need me. It was Wenzhou that made me a doctor. The city needs me." said Brett.

Although for professional reasons, the foreign doctor was not directly involved in the treatment of pneumonia patients infected by the novel coronavirus, Brett has been on the front line to treat other patients. In addition, he participates in online medical consultation services and activities through channels such as WeChat to minimize the frequency of public visits to the hospital.

"Every Wenzhounese I know has not flinched from this outbreak. Everyone is shouldering their responsibility." Brett said.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, Wenzhou people throughout 131 countries and regions all over the world, donate and raise supplies through various channels to Hubei, Zhejiang and other places. On February 2, the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce in Japan raised another 250,000 masks to be sent from Japan to hospitals in Wenzhou.

"Now the city is well supplied and citizens are not in a panic”, said Brett, "People have reduced their outdoor activities at the request of the government. In public places, everyone wears a mask and there are checkpoints designated at all major entrances to check the body temperature. The hospitals are in good order, with some highly suspected cases being assigned to specific medical treatment points through outpatient triage."

As of February 2, the cumulative number of cured and discharged patients with pneumonia from the novel coronavirus in Wenzhou has reached 10 cases, and that number is growing rapidly.

"I believe the outbreak will pass smoothly”, said Brett, "I have faith in this city."