The quiet heroes of Wuhan

Ms. Wang was the No 1 person I wanted to interview in Wuhan. She has helped 74 pregnant women, but refused to tell me her full name.

As the owner of a children's book store, Wang decided to suspend operations in wake of the coronavirus outbreak and could have stayed at her home in Wuhan, Hubei province－the epicenter of the outbreak－and done nothing but wait for its end.

Instead, Wang has chosen to help pregnant women and their newborns.

Since Jan 23, it has not been easy for a woman to give birth in Wuhan as public transportation has come to a standstill in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

In order to help mothers and newborns, Wang and her companions set up a "baby care plan "platform on WeChat. Wang is in charge of a psychological counseling team on the platform that serves anxious pregnant mothers from 8 pm to 9 pm every day.

Wang is working harder than she does when running her book store. Besides psychological counseling, she collects information from the pregnant women and contacts hospitals for assistance.

With her efforts, 44 volunteers and seven support units have joined hands to provide help for 74 pregnant women in Wuhan.

On Friday, a woman she helped gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Public data show that 120,000 babies were born last year in Wuhan. Based on those figures, an estimated 5,000 pregnant women gave birth in the past half month, and they need help.

Wang said she felt fulfilled when she saw a picture of the new baby, evidence that all her efforts paid off.

Neither Wang nor the volunteers had ever met any of their pregnant clients before. But facing the epidemic, their sense of humanity is shining brightly, motivating them to help others and lighting up Wuhan.

Besides Wang, I have met others like her, the quiet heroes in the city who never complain but try their best to help.

Quiet heroes like Zhong Hao and his wife, Hu Jie, who helped build the miracle Leishenshan and Huoshenshan hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.

Heroes like the engineering team who completed the six-day-installation work of CT equipment at Leishenshan in 48 hours.

Heroes like the volunteers in Beijing, Shenyang and Qingdao who contribute to the battle through their own efforts in terms of communication, charity and transportation.

It is said that humans have three attributes: animal, human and divine. With the threat of the new coronavirus virus looming over them, the people of Wuhan and other cities are strongly demonstrating their divinity.

Unsung heroes are making their best effort to save lives. Their names may not be known, but their deeds will always be remembered.

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