WRIT 1133 Reflective PortfolioYour professor and the Writing Program faculty assess WRIT courses by reading student writings at the end of these courses. To help this effort and to demonstrate your wr

Wenjia Zhang

Professor Kamila Kinyon

WRIT 1133

May 15, 2020

Oral History Project

Reflection

I chose an ordinary doctor outside the anti-virus Center (Wuhan) for this interview. Mainstream media tend to focus on doctors in Wuhan. But the doctors in other cities also make a significant contribution. What’s more, the epidemic in other cities is not so serious, so they live the same life as ordinary people after work. Therefore, the target audience of this report is mainly ordinary people who are also experiencing the epidemic.

On the one hand, it can tell them a story of a typical Chinese doctor, on the other hand, it can also provide some solutions for their home boring time by reporting the interviewee’s daily life. So, this report focuses on Dr. Tang, both as a doctor fighting against the epidemic and as a typical person who may be bored at home and miss her relatives. Especially in the latter part, it is easy to arouse target audience' resonance. Due to the coronavirus, people are also quarantined at home and live a very dull life. Therefore, the report describes Dr. Tang's ways to eliminate daily boredom and her positive attitude towards adjustment to quarantine, which is easy to attract target reading' reading. Dr. Tang can provide them with some life solutions. Besides, when I write the report, I try to describe the interviewee as an ordinary person like us, rather than a hero. This method can effectively lessen the gap between the reporter and the target audience and make the interviewees' image more vivid.

A Common Medical Workers’ Life During the Outbreak of COVID-19 in China

“I hope this virus can end soon; all countries and people's lives can return to normal.” Dr. Tang said.

From December 2019 to January 2020, a new type of coronary pneumonia, named as coronavirus later, broke out in Wuhan. Since people didn't pay much attention to it, industrial production and transportation were still running. But at this time, it is the most important festival for Chinese people, which is the spring festival. All the migrant workers went home from cities, so the virus spread to many parts of the country, including the city of Shaanxi interviewee in this coverage lived. In the process of the outbreak of coronavirus, many mainstream media focused on doctors’ life-saving in Wuhan. Many doctors who bravely went to support Wuhan widely reported. But many doctors are fighting against the epidemic in their cities, and they are also heroes. So, we interviewed Dr. Tang, who lives in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. How does Dr. Tang, as not only a doctor but a citizen, went through a tough time during the lockdown? She tells us the answer.

From doubt to certainty

When the virus started to spread, most people didn't know anything about it. Many people still go to Wuhan for sightseeing, business trips, and family visits, or go from Wuhan to all over the country. Even Ms. Tang, as a doctor, was not sure for a long time. “Because the medical system connected across the country, we have some information about the new type of coronary pneumonia. But most of our doctors are skeptical about it.” Most Chinese, including Dr. Tang, confirmed the news's authenticity at the end of January. At that time, Yansong Bai, a prestigious host of CCTV (China Central Television), interviewed Nanshan Zhong, an expert who once fought against SARS. Nanshan Zhong told the public in this interview that the virus has found that it can pass from person to person, so citizens should be careful when entering the public place. Since then, most people, like Dr. Tang, have paid close attention to the outbreak of coronavirus. Many people think there may be a nationwide outbreak of the virus, so they are cautious and buy some daily use from the supermarket in advance and store them at home to prevent the shortage of food and necessities.

With more and more reports on the virus and the disclosure of related information, more and more people and local governments began to pay attention to the epidemic. Local governments have announced measures to seal Wuhan city to ensure that the virus does not spread further. At this time, a lot of confirmed cases have begun to appear all over the country. Though she is a pediatrician, Dr. Tang also needs to work in the hospital to treat patients. “When the virus spread, my work intensity increased, and the hospital's protective measures became more comprehensive.” She said. Due to sufficient medical resources and medical workers, as well as relatively fewer patients, the epidemic all over the country except Wuhan quickly controlled. These are highly relevant to the efforts and dedication of medical workers like Dr. Tang. Take Xi'an as an example. By the end of April 2020, no new local confirmed cases have found in Shaanxi, and no new domestic confirmed cases have found for 70 consecutive days. There are no new suspected cases, no new suspected cases for 67 straight days. There was no new local asymptomatic infection, and there was no new local symptomless infection for 68 consecutive days. As of 8:00 on the 30th, 245 cases (242 discharged and three dead) reported in Shaanxi, with a cure rate of 98.78%. Through the efforts of medical workers, the epidemic situation in Xi'an has controlled.

The duty as a medical worker

Our medical workers, like Dr. Tang, effectively protected during the fight against the epidemic. “My protective measures in the hospital are still in a state of advanced protection. My husband and I decided not to go out as much as possible, and we must wear masks when we go out. Because of the particularity of my job, I have to go to work every day.” We can see that most ordinary people do not go out during the epidemic. But Dr. Tang has to go to the hospital because of her work. But the useful protective measures are taken, such as wearing masks, disinfection, not taking public transport and so on. Dr. Tang and other colleagues are also given high-level protection in the hospital, and the relevant medical protection tools are relatively sufficient. And it is reported that due to the shortage of medical resources such as masks and protective clothing, some therapeutic tool manufacturers have made great efforts to resume production and guarantee the supply of masks day and night. So relatively speaking, doctors have enough medical tools and protective measures. These measures also effectively prevent the virus from infecting medical personnel, which may stop further large-scale transmission of the virus.

Life as a collective people

What's Dr. Tang's daily life like during the outbreak of coronavirus? In terms of necessities, they merely banned from going out because of the epidemic and lockdown, so they sometimes may not purchase necessities. “But the community provides good service. The community distributes vegetables, fruits, rice, and noodles at a fixed time every day.” She said this is a good guarantee for the daily life of residents at home. Also, the service of delivery played an important role; many items and necessities efficiently delivered to various locations. The combination of the online service platform and delivery network showed its advantages in this epidemic.

Like many people, Dr. Tang felted a little bored when she was at home. So, what kind of activities will Dr. Tang takes to entertain or pass the time when she stayed home? During the time of staying home, Dr. Tang missed his daughter very much. Her daughter was studying at a university in the United States, and there was no way to go back to China due to the virus's outbreak. So, in her spare time, Dr. Tang would make a video call with her daughter to ask her about her recent situation. Video call is also one of Dr. Tang's happiest moments. Family affection is perhaps the essential thing during the epidemic. Also, many people in China’s social network had put forward many ways to spend a dull time at home. For example, it was a good time for us to make three meals and enjoy delicious food. Others chose to read a lot of interesting books and increase their knowledge during this time. Some people who like to stay fit have to decide to use this time at home to lose weight and shape their bodies.

So, do you have some things you like but can't do because of quarantine at home? Ms. Tang likes going out very much. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, she went hiking with her husband every weekend. She also wants to go shopping with close friends, which is a relaxing activity and often makes her very happy. Besides, her daughter should return home on time during the summer vacation. But now, whether she can return home is due to the future severity of the epidemic in the United States. The outbreak of the virus disrupted these things and plans. Those made Dr. Tang very unhappy, but life has to go on. We should not complain about the boredom and unpredictability of life, but to strive to live a better life. In fact, in the face of many difficulties and unhappiness in life staying home, there are many alternative ways to solve and tackle them. Like Dr. Tang, when she missed her daughter, she often makes video calls with her daughter. We can try to do some things differently. A woman interviewed said, “for example, I like shopping very much, but now I can choose online shopping, which is cheaper and more diversified. Waiting for delivery time makes me have a kind of expectation for the future, which makes a few excited in the boring days; this will make our life at home more interesting.” These ways of thinking and life skills are excellent ways to solve the troubles that you can't go out when you are at home during the epidemic.

Dr. Tang’s wish

When it comes to the idea of the current epidemic situation, Dr. Tang said, “I hope this virus can end soon, all countries can return to normal order, and people's lives can return to normal.” Due to the spread of coronavirus, our daily lives are affected significantly, and the economies of various countries impacted significantly. The economic crisis will seriously affect our daily life in the long run. Moreover, although the outbreak in China has become to an end, the epidemic is still severe in the United States, Italy, and some other countries. We hope that the virus will disappear as soon as possible so that people around the world can live a healthy life as quickly as possible.

Tang, Lu. Personal Interview. May 3, 2020