Three Wuxi citizens receive national honor for their outstanding contributions to the country's fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. [Photo/wxrb.com]
Two hospital leaders and the president of an enterprise from Wuxi were commended during a meeting on Sept 8 in Beijing that honored role models who contributed to the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
The honorary title of "National Advanced Individual in Fight Against the COVID-19 Epidemic" was conferred to Chen Jingyu, director of thoracic surgery of Wuxi People's Hospital, and Zhou Haijiang, board chairman of Hodo Group, a Wuxi-based private company specializing in knitted underwear and garments. Wuxi No 5 People's Hospital received the title of "National Advanced Group in Fight against the COVID-19 Epidemic".
Chen said that receiving the award was an affirmation of the efforts of the lung transplant team at Wuxi People's Hospital. He explained that during the anti-epidemic battle, the lung transplant team led the world in carrying out double lung transplants for patients infected with the novel coronavirus. This in turn allowed them to share their valuable experience with the world.
"I am proud of my country. The pandemic is still spreading in other parts of the world, but because of the strong leadership of the Party and nationwide efforts, we have achieved progress in the current fight against the epidemic," said Chen.
Chen noted that more and more infectious diseases have been emerging over the years, and that they have been mainly respiratory infections, referring to SARS, MERS and HIN1. As an expert in the diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases, Chen vowed to carry on the anti-epidemic spirit and contribute to the nation's health system.
Lu Xiaojie, head of Wuxi No 5 People's Hospital, told reporters that the coronavirus outbreak had pushed the hospital to the frontlines where its staff performed their roles dutifully despite facing various challenges. Due to their unified and tireless efforts, none of the hospital staff were infected and none of their COVID-19 patients died.
"The country has given us such a great honor and this award is the greatest encouragement to our medical staff," said Lu, who expressed his determination to promote the anti-epidemic spirit, help with epidemic prevention and control, and continue to contribute to the development of Wuxi's medical and health services.
Though not a doctor, Zhou similarly made sacrifices for the nation in his own way. At the start of the year during a critical moment in epidemic prevention and control, Zhou paid special Party membership dues of 10 million yuan ($1.46 million) to the Party organization as quickly as possible. He also mobilized his company to transform the production line to manufacture some 650,000 pieces of protective clothing, accomplishing its mission given by the government to help Hubei province's Wuhan, formerly China's epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company also donated one million masks to the Cambodian Red Cross and produced isolation gowns for medical workers.
"The great anti-epidemic spirit is our precious asset for overcoming all difficulties. This commendation is a strong spiritual motivation to the majority of private enterprises," said Zhou.
