Nurse injured from ‘days of fighting’ coronavirus in China hospital

A nurse working to treat patients suffering from the deadly coronavirus has suffered extensive cuts and “scars” on her hands.

The nurse's hands suffered hundreds of small cuts. Picture: CGTN

Images of “scars” on a young nurse’s hands from repeatedly washing and applying surgical gloves have been shared on Chinese social media to highlight the long hours endured by medical staff working to treat patients diagnosed with the coronavirus.

A series of images shared by China Global Television Network show nurse Hu Pei, 22, with hundreds of tiny cuts on her hands.

A photo of her face, marked from wearing a protective mask was also shared. According to reports, the images were part of a WeChat social media campaign to support medical staff who had been working long hours in difficult circumstances as the death toll from the coronavirus rises.

Hu Pei has been working at the Hunan Children’s Hospital in Hunan, in central China.

The new coronavirus that emerged in a Chinese market at the end of last year has killed more than 420 people and spread around the world.

The latest figures from China show there are more than 20,400 people infected in the country.

The nurse's hands suffered hundreds of small cuts. Picture: CGTN

Hu Pei's injured hands. Picture: CGTN

Her face after wearing a mask for long periods of time. Picture: CGTN

Salute! These wounded hands belong to a 22-year-old female nurse who has been fighting the novel #coronavirus at the Hunan Provincial Children's Hospital in central China. pic.twitter.com/nfobU4YFm1

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) February 3, 2020

Pictures of nurses' hands shriveled and scarred after days of fighting the #coronavirus on the front lines are going viral on social media.

via | CGTN
pic.twitter.com/Otc8dxchXg

— CoronaVirus Breaking News (@NCOVNEWS) February 2, 2020

According to reports, Hu Pei’s wounds on her hands were caused by overuse, particularly the continual replacement of medical gloves, handwashing and the use of antibacterial handwash. Reports described her hands as being “shrivelled and scarred”.

“Washing hands and disinfecting after a nick on your hands can be very painful,” Hu Pei said.

The toll in mainland China soared to 425 after 64 more people died, the biggest single-day tally since the first fatalities emerged last month. The majority of reported cases of the virus have occurred in and around Wuhan, where the virus originated.

Most of the 425 deaths also occurred in that region, but officials have confirmed multiple deaths elsewhere in China, including in the capital Beijing.

Health officials have advised that the mortality rate for the new coronavirus stands at 2.1 per cent, a rate that is higher, 3.1 per cent, in Hubei province at the epicentre of the virus. By comparison, the deadly SARS virus killed nearly 10 per cent of patients.

The report indicates most victims who died of coronavirus also had underlying health problems or were elderly.

– With AFP