Peking University, Jan. 29, 2020: A group of sixty medical workers from Peking University People's Hospital, Peking University First Hospital and Peking University Third Hospital joined a Beijing-based medical team rushing to Wuhan to help fight the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).
 

The medical team

As ground zero for the outbreak that began in December, Wuhan currently has the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths due to the pneumonia caused by 2019-nCoV. To prevent more outbreaks in other areas, Wuhan imposed an emergency lockdown on January 23 to limit the otherwise tremendous number of people that would be leaving the city to travel.

However, the number of suspected cases within the city are still on the rise and deaths are mounting up, so Wuhan is currently experiencing a significant shortage of medical personnel and supplies, making it even more difficult to combat this deadly virus.

Medical staff from the three affiliated hospitals of Peking University, some with experience tackling SARS in 2003, left their families to lend their expertise to join a Wuhan relief team comprised of doctors and nurses trained in fields such as respiratory illnesses and intensive care. These brave men and women are now on the front line in the battle against the new coronavirus in Wuhan, putting their own lives at risk so that others have a better chance at survival.

Back in Beijing, another team of student volunteers from the Peking University School of Public Health are working at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, helping staff there with the control and prevention of 2019-nCoV.
 

Student volunteers from the Peking University School of Public Health

Moreover, Peking University has decided to postpone the 2020 Spring Semester, as Beijing has launched a Level I emergency response to control and prevent the spread of the coronavirus

Seventeen years ago, hundreds of PKUers rushed into the trenches of anti-SARS battlegrounds across the country, and some of them lost their lives in the fight. Seventeen years later, PKUers are answering the call once more.

It is the PKU spirit that encourages generations of PKUers to selflessly combat the virus for their fellow citizens. We honor that spirit and will carry it on through our own efforts.
 

Written by: Pu Hairui
Edited by: Amanda Hu, Trevor, Huang Weijian
Photo credit to: Xinhua News, PKU Health Science Center