Two medical staff members from northwest China's Qinghai Province take a rest before leaving the Wuchang temporary hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, March 10, 2020. (Xinhua/Fei Maohua)
Calling nurses and midwives "the backbone of every health system," Dr. Tedros, the head of WHO, said that "one of the lessons I hope the world learns from COVID-19 is that we must invest in health workers -- not only to protect lives but also to protect livelihoods."
by Xinhua writer Guo Fengqing
BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Every year on this day, World Health Day is celebrated worldwide to spread the awareness of maintaining good health and a balanced lifestyle. The ravaging COVID-19 pandemic makes this year's even more special.
In the face of the exponential growth of new confirmed cases, a shortage of medical supplies, and unprecedented strain on the global health system, thousands of medical workers have risked their own lives to put up an arduous and brave fight against the common enemy of humankind.
Overcoming all kinds of difficulties and obstacles on the frontlines, these "angels in white" have won praise and respect for their tremendous sacrifice and indefatigable work across the globe.
On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) paid tribute to all health workers, especially those at the forefront of the COVID-19 battle, naming 2020 the "International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife."
A medical worker transfers the body of a victim who died of COVID-19 at a hospital in New York, the United States, April 6, 2020. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
At a media briefing on COVID-19, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said many health workers have made an "incredible contribution" to the global fight against the coronavirus, with some "putting themselves in danger to save lives."
Calling nurses and midwives "the backbone of every health system," he asked everyone to protect themselves and said "one of the lessons I hope the world learns from COVID-19 is that we must invest in health workers -- not only to protect lives but also to protect livelihoods."
Kwon Tae-heung, a gastroenterologist at Dongsan Hospital in the South Korean city of Daegu, has been working in the ward for 10 hours a day, seven days a week without rotation after the hospital was designated for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in late February.
Due to reduced flexibility in his working hours, Kwon can currently only communicate with his family via phone or video calls, unable to meet them in person.
A researcher develops drugs against the COVID-19 at a laboratory in Seongnam of Gyeonggi province, South Korea, March 30, 2020. (NEWSIS/Handout via Xinhua)
Across the Pacific, the continuously spreading pandemic has left the United States with a severe shortage of both health workers and protective equipment. An increasing number of new cases and heavy symptoms among medical workers in many states has only made things worse.
In the hardest-hit state of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo recently called on retired health workers to help amid the COVID-19 fight. Even before the governor's appeal, some 80,000 veteran doctors, nurses and health professionals had volunteered to help out with the national crisis.
Marvin Malek, a retired doctor from the state of Vermont, said he had worked on intensive care units for many years, accumulating a lot of experience in inpatient care. Answering the call for help, he had no second thoughts about returning to his former career, he said.
In Spain, the country with the world's highest recorded rate of infections among medical professionals, 12 health workers have reportedly lost their lives since the COVID-19 outbreak. Residents in the locked-down country have shown their gratitude to health personnel by applauding from their windows and balconies every night at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT).
Spanish King Felipe VI paid tribute to workers in health care and security services in a recent TV speech. "You are the vanguard of Spain in the fight against this illness. You are our first line of defense. You are an unforgettable example," he said about those caring for patients.
Medical personnel work in the ICU of Istituto Clinico Casalpalocco, in Rome, Italy, March 25, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua)
In Italy, a country with over 130,000 total confirmed cases, 77 clinicians have died during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest data from the country's National Federation of Orders of Surgeons and Dentists.
Such a worrisome situation, however, has not prevented more doctors from going to the virus-stricken northern Italian regions to extend their voluntary services.
Italy's Civil Protection Department announced recently it had received more than 7,900 applications within 24 hours of putting out a call to create a task force of 300 doctors nationwide to help treat patients in the worst-hit regions of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna.
In Britain, thousands of retired health professionals have also come to the frontline of the COVID-19 battle, despite some of their colleagues unfortunately falling victim to the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told Britons to stay at home, protect the National Health Service, and save lives.
A community doctor visits a family to check their health conditions in Havana, Cuba, March 31, 2020. (Xinhua/Zhu Wanjun)
In Latin America, some 700 Cuban medical workers have participated in the COVID-19 fight in 15 countries worldwide since the coronavirus outbreak, according to data from the Cuban Ministry of Public Health.
China, after entering the mitigation stage of COVID-19, has been helping other nations to the best of its ability by sharing its experience, providing tons of medical supplies, and sending health experts to many countries, including Italy, Serbia, Venezuela, Iraq and Iran.
As viruses know no borders, neither do the fights against them. Under the current pandemic, "World Health Day this year comes at a very difficult time for all of us," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Tuesday in a video message posted on Twitter.
"We are more grateful than ever to all of our health workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. You make us proud and you inspire us. We stand with you and we count on you," said Guterres.
(Xinhua reporters Wang Ying and Xu Ye in Caracas, Shi Zhongyu in Belgrade, and Lin Zhaohui in Havana also contributed to the story.)■