China pays tribute to exhausted coronavirus staff as hospitals scramble for supplies

Photos of exhausted doctors have gone viral in China. Photo / Twitter

Photos of exhausted doctors and nurses are being shared online in China, as the country pays tribute to the thousands of workers on the frontline of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.

More than 28000 people have been infected with the novel 2019-nCoV virus across the world, but the vast majority of cases are concentrated in Wuhan, in the country's Hubei province, where the disease was first detected.

Since December, hospitals have been inundated with ill patients and medical resources have been stretched.

Photos shared on state-owned media showed tired medics slumped over desks and sleeping on floors of unnamed hospitals, still dressed in their protective clothing.

Several doctors and nurses can be seen sleeping on the floor here. Photo / Twitter

On social media, people have dubbed the workers "heroes" and "warriors in white".

"They've been fighting for us. They've been battling the virus. They are parents, they are also daughters and sons," the Communist party's newspaper, People's Daily wrote.

Nurses take off their face masks after a grueling shift in fight with novel #coronavirus, touching the hearts of millions on Chinese social media. Salute to these angels!#EverydayHero ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/BiO7E3PfGR

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) February 5, 2020

Take a look at how those "warriors in white" fight #coronavirus on frontline and encourage patients to overcome the disease. #pneumonia pic.twitter.com/gYkoV6jMiu

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) February 6, 2020

#coronavirus. Photos of frontline medics after they took off their masks; some wore masks for 12 hours at a stretch. 12 HOURS. Netizens hailing them as heroes as the Chinese govt glosses over lapses in alerting its own citizens over a spreading, deadly virus. @htTweets pic.twitter.com/1eKdd1s9Mf

— SutirthoPatranobis 李学华 (@spatranobis) February 6, 2020

The unsung heroes of #wuhan. Medical workers fighting the #coronavirus on the front line working non stop fell asleep without taking off their protective suits.@GlenGilmore @helene_wpli @YuHelenYu @HeinzVHoenen @AmandaRay02 @NevilleGaunt @psb_dc @debraruh @kashthefuturist @AkwyZ pic.twitter.com/PsZAVwauEB

— Alvin Foo (@alvinfoo) January 30, 2020

Earlier this week, photos also emerged of the marks and sores left on nurses' faces after hours of wearing face masks.

Agonising footage also showed workers in Wuhan breaking down screaming and crying over a lack of sleep.

This medic was spotted sleeping at their desk. Photo / Twitter

ANGER OVER 'STOLEN' MASKS

It comes as a second new hospital with 1500 beds built especially for treating virus patients opened in China on Thursday.

Clinical trials for a new antiviral drug, Remdesivir, were also expected to begin.

But towns and cities are still scrambling for medical supplies, in particular protective masks, with one city accusing another of intercepting and 'stealing' a vital shipment on Thursday.

The shipment had been bound for Chongqing – a municipality with 400 cases – but was taken by the government of Dali – a city with only eight confirmed cases in the southwestern province of Yunnan – according to state media.

Chongqing told Dali to give them back, but the Dali government said it had already distributed the 598 boxes of masks and so could not retrieve them.

The spat prompted widespread anger on China's social media, with many users accusing Dali of theft.

Wuhan, meanwhile, has called on public support for protective supplies such as masks and suits.