Zhang Dingyu, head of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital Photo: VCG

 Central China's Hubei provincial government plans to promote four officials who made outstanding achievements in the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic, including the head of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital who took instant measures to set up isolation wards to buy time for laboratories to identify the virus at the early stage of the outbreak.   

Zhang Dingyu, head of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, will be promoted to deputy director of the provincial health commission for his immediate and appropriate reaction to the epidemic, and continuing to fight on the front line even though he was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and his wife was infected with the virus, as reported by Hubei Daily on Saturday.

The report said that Zhang instantly built an isolated ward when the first group of patients suffering pneumonia from unknown causes was transferred to the hospital, which bought time for the lab to identify the virus.

After receiving the COVID-19 patients, he insisted on eating and living in the hospital, devoted himself to the treatment of patients, and dealt with various emergencies to ensure the orderly and efficient operation of the hospital. His actions have been recognized by the public.

Zhang kept his ALS a secret and continued treating patients along with other doctors from the hospital, The Beijing News reported.

As the results of the nucleic acid tests of the last 14 patients came back negative on Saturday, all COVID-19 cases in the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, which had received almost 3,000 patients, have now been cured, CCTV News reported.

Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital is a designated hospital for the treatment of infectious diseases in Hubei and has fought against the virus since December 29, 2019 when the first seven infectious patients were transferred there, The Beijing News report said. Isolation wards were set aside four days after the first group of infectious patients was admitted in the hospital.  Since then, the hospital has opened 21 epidemic treatment areas.

Three other officials were commended for effective disinfection and disposal of medical waste, organizing epidemic prevention and resumption work, as well as publicizing advanced deeds in the fight against the epidemic.

Jia Li, director of the city management and law enforcement commission of Yichang in Hubei, organized the disinfection of more than 50 million square meters of the city, as well as the collection and disposal of 53 million kilograms of various types of waste after the COVID-19 outbreak.

Wu Changjun, the mayor and deputy Party chief of Songzi, another city in Hubei, guided the formation of five medical treatment teams and 17 medical detachments, and organized the expansion of the city's people's hospital as a treatment site for coronavirus patients in just four days. Wu will be promoted to Party chief of Songzi. 

Wu commanded the city's epidemic prevention work while the city's Party chief Huang Xianglong contracted COVID-19 and received treatment, Hubei Daily said. This was the first time Party chief of a city in Hubei was revealed to have contracted COVID-19 and Huang is cured from the disease, The Beijing News reported. 

After the epidemic had been brought under control in the city, Wu rapidly promoted the resumption of agricultural and industrial production, bringing the city's social order to normal.

As deputy director of the Xianning government publicity department, Wang Shenghong has been devoted to guiding public opinion on epidemic prevention and control work. He effectively organized the dissemination of knowledge on preventing infectious diseases to residents and spread touching stories of workers on the front line of the fight against the virus to the public. 

Fourteen people, including doctor Li Wenliang, a "whistleblowers" who tried to warn other medics of the coronavirus outbreak and died on the frontline of the fight against the virus in Hubei, were identified as the first batch of martyrs on April 2, Xinhua reported.

These 14 people were described as outstanding representatives of role models among frontline medics and epidemic prevention workers, the report said.

The COVID-19 outbreak is a major public health emergency that has spread rapidly, caused the most extensive infection and is the most difficult to contain in the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China.