Zhang Dingyu, head of Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, had an isolation ward set up immediately after receiving the first batch of seven patients with pneumonia of an unknown cause on Dec 29, 2019.

He demanded the medical team strengthen personal protection and collect samples of these patients' bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, which were sent to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for virus tests. Four days later, the novel coronavirus was identified. This pointed out the etiology direction for China's anti-epidemic fight and bought time for the treatment of the disease and the development of vaccine.

Zhang was diagnosed in 2018 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and his legs progressively lose muscle strength. But he did not let the disease slow down his steps to saving more patients.

Zhang, along with more than 600 colleagues at the hospital, treated and saved more than 2,800 COVID-19 patients.