Peking University, Feb. 2, 2020: As the fight against the novel coronavirus gets more and more intense in Wuhan, help has been pouring in from around the world. Among them are groups of PKUers that have been sparing no efforts in providing and gathering support across the globe. Today, we pay our tribute to those who fight for others.
 

On February 1, a team of 12 medical personnel from Peking University People's Hospital, PKU First Hospital and PKU Third Hospital headed to Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, to join the fight against the novel coronavirus. Assembled within only 1 hour after being summoned, it is already the second team dispatched to aid efforts in Wuhan. They left directly from the hospital without even having a chance to say goodbye to their families. This team is led by the President of the PKU First Hospital Liu Xinmin, the President of PKU Third Hospital Qiao Jie and the Council Chair of PKU People's Hospital Zhao Yue.
 

PKUers on the front lines

On the evening of January 26th – the day after the Chinese Spring Festival – a group of 60 healthcare professionals and disease control experts from three of Peking University's affiliated hospitals were dispatched to Wuhan as part of an emergency relief team. The novel coronavirus has affected thousands of people in and around Wuhan, putting a great deal of stress on not only the local healthcare infrastructure, but also on the doctors and nurses there that must work around the clock to provide care for such a tremendous number of people in need. After arrival, the team from PKU were brought up to date on the situation in Wuhan during a training session on the morning of the 27th and were already conducting drills by that evening.

By the evening of the 28th, the first batch of relief teams from Peking University had already entered the sick wards of hospitals around Wuhan. Over the following days, the team worked tirelessly alongside the local doctors and nurses, though even with the extra help it was not easy work. The team was impossibly busy in the first day, such that many had no time to eat or drink. But, given the desperate situation, the team bore these hardships like true professionals and continued to give it their all knowing that their suffering paled in comparison to their Wuhan colleagues who had already been working under these conditions for far too long.
 

PKU students at the forefront

Huang Yujia, a 23-year-old doctoral student of Peking University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, joined her father — a doctor at Songzi People's Hospital in Hubei Province, as a medical volunteer working in direct contact with coronavirus infected patients. Instead of enjoying the winter vacation at home like most of her peers, Huang convinced her father to take her to the hospital and let her help with the sorting of cases. “I'm not that scared. My parents are both medical workers, and I've got my education from Peking University. Above all, I have so many brave and selfless instructors leading me in this fight,” Huang said.
 

PKU alumnus Zhong Nanshan

Zhong Nanshan, an 84-year-old PKU alumnus and part of an expert advisory group for the National Health Commission, was one of the first healthcare professionals to respond to the crisis in Wuhan and was recently interviewed by Xinhua News Agency to talk about the situation and his experience. Zhong shared powerful accounts of some of the bravery and heroism he witnessed from doctors on the front lines in Wuhan, and offered words of hope for Wuhan, China, and the world. As an expert in respiratory illnesses, Zhong Nanshan is confident that proper disease control measures will bring the new coronavirus under control, and ultimately defeat it. He encouraged everyone to practice proper hygiene, and have hope that we will overcome this challenge.
 

PKU alumni associations

After the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, many Peking University alumni and alumni associations have stepped up to do their part in response to this epidemic. PKU alumni associations around the world have done their part to reach out to their home provinces or countries and collect valuable provisions to fight the disease, such as face masks, medical visors, and protective clothing. Other alumni associations directly raised funds for relief efforts. More than thirty alumni associations and alumni enterprises, including the PKU Alumni Association in Japan, PKU Alumni Association in Singapore, PKU Alumni Association in Canada, New Oriental Education & Technology Group, and Tomorrow Advancing Life Education Group, have contributed a total of 200 million RMB worth of relief supplies so far. Thank you for all your generous donations!
 

Support from international alumni

In response to the disease epidemic, Peking University alumnus and founder of Y-China, Raz Galor reached out to the Israeli embassy and Israeli hospitals to seek donations that might help the fight against the novel coronavirus. Thanks to his efforts, and the generosity of the Israeli people, shipments totalling 100,000 face masks, 50,000 medical gloves, and 2,000 surgical robes were sent to Hubei – the very heart of the battle against 2019-nCoV, and thus the place in the greatest need of this kind of aid.
 

Raz Galor

We appreciate all the efforts of our fellow PKUers during this difficult time, and we honor this noble spirit of generously helping others when needed. Stay strong and take care!
 

Written by: Trevor, Pu Hairui
Edited by: Amanda Hu, Huang Weijian
Photo credit to: Xinhua News, People's Daily, PKU Health Science Center, Y-China