Chinese veteran back to the front line as virus sample courier

Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak, medical staff – the intrepid warriors during this combat – have been risking their lives battling against the virus. Among the frontline fighters standing closest to the coronavirus, however, one group also exists – the virus sample courier.

From fetching patient samples in hospitals to sending them to the testing center, the less-noticed group is doing its part to win the battle. Liu Senbo, a 46-year-old veteran, is one of them.

Liu Senbo (L) and his colleague carry the sealed boxes of virus samples collected at the Leishenshan hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. /Xinhua

Armed with a protective suit, Liu currently works as a virus sample courier. His job is to deliver patient samples collected in Leishenshan Hospital, an emergency specialty field hospital built for the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan's Jiangxia District, to one of the designated virus testing center – a laboratory set up by KingMed Diagnostics Group Co., Ltd. in the city. Rigorously following the instructions, Liu makes the run twice a day, without a hitch.

The 46-year-old veteran has been undertaking this high-risk task for days since February 19, 2020, when he arrived in Wuhan from south China's Guangzhou Province, to back the battle against the novel coronavirus.

Liu puts on a protective suit upon his arrival at Leishenshan Hospital. /Xinhua

Each day his work starts with putting on a protective suit as soon as he drives to Leishenshan Hospital. After putting on the many layers of protection, Liu and his colleague head inside the hospital to pick up virus samples.

In order to ensure safety, all samples are held in specimen bags as a first layer of protection and then sealed in a 95kPa tank before being placed in a specimen box made of aluminum alloy with a checklist on the surface of the box.

Liu (R) and his colleague wrap the box containing patient samples with a plastic bag after disinfection at Leishenshan Hospital. /Xinhua

After multiple layers of disinfection, Liu and his colleague are required to move the boxes into the vehicle and then drive to the testing center in Caidian District, Wuhan, within half an hour. As soon as they arrive, Liu carries the sealed boxes to the lab for nucleic acid testing via a delivery window in the wall.

Liu Senbo (2nd L) and his colleague send the samples to the lab for nucleic acid testing via a delivery window. /Xinhua

At this stage, Liu's job is almost done before he disinfects his colleague and himself afterwards.

"Joining the army was to safeguard the national security as far as I am concerned. Coming to Wuhan at this moment is to protect people's health," said the 46-year-old veteran. "And it is my responsibility to deliver each patient's sample to the laboratory as quickly and safely as possible."

Liu is having dinner at the testing center after a day's work. /Xinhua

The man who sent himself to the "front line" again after being discharged from the army has won great compliments online. On Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, user @danmo-h commented that "a great warrior is someone who devotes himself for the country and the people." User @muyedouding remarked that "I couldn't even see your face, but wish you safe and sound."

As of midnight on Thursday, a total of 327 new cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed on the Chinese mainland and 44 new deaths were reported, sending the total number of confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland to 78,824 and the cumulative death toll to 2,788.