Dressed head to toe in protective clothing, Shi Xuebin climbs in the ambulance (救护车) to take his special passengers to the hospital. As an ambulance driver, 46-year-old Shi volunteer to carry patients with COVID-19 to the hospital.
Shi first did the job on January 25, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. He wore a protective suit, an N95 respirator (口罩), a pair of medical goggles, two pairs of gloves and protective shoes. While on the way, doctors asked for information about the patient and took his body temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels.
The job was far more challenging than he had expected. Soon, Shi's goggles started fogging up and he couldn't see clearly. "I had to be very careful on the road," he said.
Every time he finished a transfer (转移),the ambulance must be fully disinfected (消毒) and completely cleaned. The driver and doctors had to spray (喷洒) disinfectant all over each other's body. The next step was taking a warm shower. Shi had to take showers every time he returned from a transfer. "I once transferred six patients a day. That meant six showers," he said.
"I have been doing something really meaningful over the past few months, and I will stay at my post until the end of the epidemic (传染病)," Shi said.
