Ma Shuang, an ear and throat disease expert, has worked at the Zigong No.4 People's Hospital in Sichuan Province in southwest China since she graduated five years ago. In these years, she has never spent the Spring Festival, the most important traditional Chinese festival, with her family in her hometown.

"This is not overtime work for me, it is part of my normal duties," she told Beijing Review. As doctors, Ma and her colleagues are on shift duty all year round, including during the Spring Festival period, making it impossible for them to enjoy any holiday completely.

Ma was on duty for 24 hours, from 8 a.m. on January 24, Lunar New Year's Eve, to 8 a.m. the next day. It is something not many people can do. Within the first 12 hours, she had seen about 60 patients.

"We have shift duty during the Spring Festival every year, and I'm used to it," Ma said, adding that this year was very different. On Lunar New Year's Eve, Zigong reported its first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus. At the time of the interview with Ma, leaders and department heads of the hospital were having a meeting on how to conduct anti-virus work. Several days before, special staff members had been assigned at the entrance of the hospital to take the body temperature of everyone who entered the facility. Those with fever were immediately transferred to the fever clinic.

Ma explained that when examining patients, she and her colleagues have to wear head mirrors, making it inconvenient for them to wear protective glasses. In addition, they are very close to the patients during examination, leading to high exposure risks.

Gao Shan, head of Ma's department, has been reminding his colleagues to protect themselves well. Gao was not on duty on New Year's Eve, but he went to work anyway to carry out what he does every year: boiling dumplings for all the staff on duty and the patients in the ward.

At midnight, patients were still flowing in but Ma hoped she might be able to fit in a nap soon, which would be her best New Year's gift.

(Photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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