Coronavirus Doctor Dies in Wuhan, China, Leaving Pregnant Wife Behind

Colleagues on Friday mourned the death of Peng Yinhua, a 29-year-old Chinese doctor who postponed his wedding to join the fight against the coronavirus disease（COVID-19) outbreak, after he died from the virus Thursday night, leaving behind a pregnant wife.

Peng, a respiratory acute care medical professional, became infected while treating patients of the novel coronavirus at the First People's Hospital of Jiangxia District in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. He was hospitalized on Jan 25 and transferred to Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital for treatment on Jan 30.

He passed away at 21:50 Thursday despite the Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital medical staff's all-out efforts to save his life.

Peng is fondly remembered by his colleague as an honest, optimistic and hard-working man who is always ready to help.

"Peng worked for 48 straight hours after the outbreak. The clinic was short of doctors, and he wanted to help his colleagues. He was the only male doctor in the department besides the director," recalled Peng's wife.

Peng and his wife tied the knot in November 2017 but the wedding celebration was postponed to Feb 1 this year as he was attending a training course. Despite the hospital having allowed him to take a holiday for his wedding, Peng offered to delay the big day to stand with his colleagues amid the epidemic.

Peng never got to send out his wedding invitations, which are still in his office drawer.

"We made a promise that after we win this battle, we would go to his wedding and share his happiness," said Jiang Junxia, a colleague of Peng.

After the hospital was prompted to establish a second batch of isolation wards on Jan 21 due to the increased number of patients, Peng knew that the situation had reached a critical stage and that he had talk to his wife and postpone their wedding.

"He said that we wouldn't proceed with the wedding until the epidemic ended. He said it was the duty of a doctor, and I supported him," said Peng's wife.

On the first day of the establishment of the isolation ward, all the 130 beds were taken and Peng, being the devoted doctor that he was, had worked around the clock to treat the patients.

"Though we wear protective suits, we are still worried about the risks. He told me that as a man he is strong enough to attend to more patients," said Chen Hao, director of the respiration department.

Unfortunately, on Jan. 24, the eve of the Chinese New Year， Peng started developing symptoms of the virus, including a loss of appetite and low fever. Following a CT scan the next day, the results confirmed that he had contracted the virus.

On Jan 30, as his conditions worsened, Peng was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Jinyintan Hospital, a higher-level hospital in Wuhan.

Once again, Peng's personality left a lasting impression on the medical staff there and moved by his heroic acts, they tried everything in their power to save him.

"It's like I've lost a close family member of mine," said Ling, one of the nurses and a member of the medical team from east China's Anhui Province.

Peng fought the disease with strong conviction even in his last days. On Feb 2, he wrote an oath in his social media platform, saying that "although I am just an ordinary doctor, I will learn from others, and apply for Party membership. We will win the war without the smoke of gunpowder under the leadership of the Communist Party of China."

The hospital where he worked set a memorial hall in remembrance of him on Friday. Doctors and nurses came to pay their respects and wrote down their memories of Peng on notebooks, before rushing back to duty to fight and honor the young hero's battle against the novel coronavirus.

Local health bureau of the Jiangxia District mourned the death of Peng and expressed condolences to his family.

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