People across the world are working together in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. France‘s oldest doctor, Dr. Christian Chenay, who turns 99 this year is setting a great example.

Dr. Chenay has been a doctor for 70 years, he says his mission is helping people in the “forgotten” suburbs of Paris, Al Jazeera reports.

Chenay is well aware of infectious diseases. According to Reuters, he treated typhus sufferers during the Second World War.

He’s even outstayed his own son — who retired at 67 — in the profession.

There is a lack of general practitioners in France as of now, the outlet reports. Which is one of the reasons Dr. Chenay has decided to continue practising.

“I’m almost 99 years old, I should reduce my activity for many reasons,” he said.

“I work slower than before, I have to take care.”

The Paris suburb of Chevilly-Larue, for example, has only three doctors for its population of 19,000.



“We have a disease that is very contagious, that hasn’t affected a lot of people yet. We feel powerless. We don’t have a treatment,” Chenay said.

“We don’t have the possibility of isolating people, we don’t have the means of knowing who’s sick and who’s not.

“I was in contact with quite a few sick people who were probably positive. It would be surprising if I wasn’t positive, too, especially as I had the symptoms for a while.”

According to Al Jazeera, when he began showing COVID-19 symptoms, he had to take the call to end in-person appointments.

“He’s an extraordinary person, with his age, his lucidity, his joy of life, even in his advanced age,” one woman told Reuters.

He’s out of self-quarantine now and has started taking virtual appointments.