Henan doctor dies from exhaustion after working 39 days straight

He was only 36 years old

Yet another doctor has died in China during the coronavirus epidemic. Again, not from the virus itself but from exhaustion.

36-year-old Yuan Yangyang passed away early on the morning of February 28 at a hospital in the Henan county of Baofeng where he had served as deputy leader of the hospital’s virus response team.

He died from a heart attack, likely brought on by exhaustion.

Staff at the hospital told reporters that Yuan had been working hard for the past 39 days straight.

He leaves behind two young children.

News of Yuan’s death followed shortly on the heels of reports of the death of a 32-year-old doctor in the Guangxi city of Hezhou who had been working on the frontlines fighting against the epidemic for 33 days straight.

He leaves behind a six-year-old daughter.

The coronavirus has taken a heavy toll on China’s medics with more than 3,000 becoming infected with the virus and at least eight dying from the disease.

However, the stress that medical workers are being put under to treat and contain the outbreak has been nearly as deadly.

In early February, a 28-year-old doctor died from exhaustion after fighting against the virus outbreak on the frontlines for 10 days straight.

About a week later, the deputy director of a Nanjing hospital died suddenly of exhaustion after working for 18 days straight. She was 51 years old.

Following her death, the Communist Party secretary of Jiangsu province weighed in, calling her “a role model for other medics.”

On Weibo, Chinese netizens have rejected the notion that dying from overwork is something that should be emulated, commenting after the latest doctor death:

“39 straight days of working, why not force a rotation?”

“These are humans, not robots. They get tired and need a rest.”

“We need warriors. We don’t need martyrs.”