The National Commendation Conference for Contributors to COVID-19 Control and Prevention was held on the morning of September 8 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping, CPC general secretary, president of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, presented winners of national medals and honorary titles with the commendation medal and delivered an important speech.

Thirty-four medical workers from Chongqing were hailed as national advanced individuals in COVID-19 control and prevention and five were hailed as national outstanding CPC members.

In particular, Zhang Xi, head nurse of the Geriatric Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University (Department of General Medicine), and Huang Xia, deputy director and associate chief physician of the Critical Care Medicine Division of the Affiliated Three Gorges Hospital of Chongqing University, were awarded the title of national advanced individual in COVID-19 control and prevention and national outstanding CPC member.

Zhang Xi: a head nurse fighting on the front line

Zhang Xi, head nurse of the Geriatric Department of the Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing University (Department of General Medicine) and head of the Second Hubei-aiding Medical Team of Chongqing

Zhang Xi volunteered to lead a medical team of 15 members to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital to fight against the COVID-19 on January 28. The average age of those team members was below 31, which means Zhang had to always lead by example and provide guidance for the team. Zhang Xi’s team received a total of 299 patients, including 35 critical patients and 121 severe patients.

Huang Xia, the supervising physician that has cured the first COVID-19 patient of Chongqing

Huang Xia, deputy director of the Critical Care Medicine Division of the Affiliated Three Gorges Hospital of Chongqing University

As the supervising physician of the Northeast Chongqing Centralized COVID-19 Hospital, Huang Xia volunteered to participate in the fight against COVID-19 and take the lead. In the longest shift, Huang worked for more than 30 hours in the isolating clothing. The first COVID-19 patient of Chongqing was discharged from hospital on January 29, as Huang became the second-class supervising physician that had cured Chongqing’s first COVID-19 patient. After that, another 248 COVID-19 patients were discharged from this hospital successively.