[Explanation] The epidemic of new coronavirus pneumonia continues to spread in Hong Kong. As of 4 pm on March 29, the total number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong has increased to 641. In a recent interview, Cai Zhenxing, a consultant doctor at the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, said that all hospitals in Hong Kong had made full preparations so far and they had zero infection care.

[Explanation] On January 23, the first confirmed case of new crown pneumonia occurred in Hong Kong, and the fight against epidemics in Hong Kong officially started. On February 9, Cai Zhenxing's Accident and Emergency Department at Mary's Hospital received the first confirmed patient with new coronary pneumonia.

[Concurrent] Cai Zhenxing, Consultant Doctor, Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong

I still remember that the first patient we received was actually between February 9th and 10th, which was Hongmei Building (patient) in Changkang Village, Tsing Yi. Now it seems to me that it happened a long time ago because it was actually Two months have passed since this one, and a lot has happened. Basically, every day, there are some new discoveries (cases).

[Explanation] The increasing number of cases has brought a lot of pressure to frontline medical staff. Mary Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department accepts 220 patients a day, of which nearly a third are suspected cases of new coronary pneumonia. Because of the risk of infection, the entire process of wearing protective equipment, consulting, transporting patients, and treating treatment cannot be relaxed. Long-term high concentration is the main cause of "fatigue" for frontline medical staff.

[Concurrent] Cai Zhenxing, Consultant Doctor, Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong

Because we want to prevent cross-infection, we need to change that suit every time. The biggest problem is tiredness, because every time you have to do the same (action), dress, undress, wash your hands, and rub your hands. Every time you do it very seriously, in fact, people are very tired, you ca n’t touch here, you ca n’t touch there. And it's not a single person, doctors, nurses, health assistants, security guards, and workers pushing a bed. Everyone has to do a big dragon and phoenix (big show), how much time do you want to spend.

[Explanation] Protective equipment to be worn by front-line medical personnel, including protective caps, face shields or eye masks, N95 masks, protective clothing, gloves, etc. Wash your hands for 20 seconds between each step of removing your body equipment. Times. Another cause of fatigue for medical staff is the uncertainty of the patients they face. Among the confirmed cases, there were no obvious symptoms. So every patient may be a potential confirmed person, and every contact is not sloppy.

[Explanation] Although tired, Cai Zhenxing said that it has improved a lot compared with the 2003 SARS period.

[Concurrent] Cai Zhenxing, Consultant Doctor, Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong

This time we actually absorbed a lot of SARS experience in 2003. If you look at it, Hong Kong is actually better than many other advanced countries (and regions) in the world, such as Europe, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Very early on we already had negative pressure wards and we also had stockpiles of personal protective equipment. We can't count the number of confirmed cases now, but our colleagues are still able to keep our medical staff free of infection, so we think this is rare.

[Explanation] In the course of fighting the epidemic, Cai Zhenxing described the emergency room as "the goalkeeper of the team" and needed to accurately identify each case and not give the virus the chance to continue to spread.

[Concurrent] Cai Zhenxing, Consultant Doctor, Emergency Department, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong

Most of the cases were diagnosed by our A & E department. Just like in a team, we are the goalkeepers, not the ones who go to the front line, but we must catch every ball and prevent it from entering the net.

Reporter Chen Shuo reports from Hong Kong

Editor-in-chief: [Liu Xian]