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Thousands of Chinese doctors volunteered for the front line of the coronavirus outbreak. They are overwhelmed, under-equipped, exhausted, and even dying.

Lauren Frias   

Thousands of Chinese doctors volunteered for the front line of the coronavirus outbreak. They are overwhelmed, under-equipped, exhausted, and even dying.
Science1 min read
Wuhan coronavirus
  • The hard and dangerous work of battling China's coronavirus epidemic is mainly being done by its medics - many of whom live nowhere near the affected areas.
  • Throughout the crisis, reports, videos, and staff themselves have showed the scale of the problem: supplies and protective gear are scarce, and the workload is enormous.
  • As many as 1,000 medical staff have themselves caught the virus while treating it. Several have died.
  • On Thursday, 34-year-old Li Wenliang, who helped first raise the alarm about the virus and was punished for it, was confirmed dead.
  • These are the sacrifices that China's medical workers have made, and continue to make.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Doctors and medical staff are feeling the toll of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus more than anybody except their patients.

As of Friday morning local time the virus, named after its epicenter in the city of Wuhan, had killed 635 people and infected nearly 31,000. As many as 1,000 of those infected were medical staff.

Some workers who contracted the disease have died. More still are working in almost impossible conditions, without the protection or resources they need to control an epidemic. Here is the situation on the ground:


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