Liu Zhuang, who leads the team from the Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, impressed his counterparts from Hainan when he efficiently mingled the two teams and assigned their shifts.

Liu's team is among those from around the country working together to help Wuhan battle the novel coronavirus epidemic. And he stands out as one of the individuals playing a vital role in a hospital, as he provides key leadership to ensure smooth operations during this critical time.

After meeting the Hainan team, Liu rushed to join the security inspection for the quarantine area and identified some problems in Wuhan Xiehe Hospital.

Liu's findings led to a move to temporarily repurpose some of the wards of Wuhan Xiehe Hospital into quarantine areas for novel coronavirus patients right after they arrived at the hospital on Jan 28. The repurposing work took place within 24 hours before the hospital received its first patients.

At around noon, he could hardly have lunch because he was just told that one extra meeting had been scheduled for him and he had to prepare for it right then.

The additional meeting was attended by experts from Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan discussing treatment for patients in critical condition. After that, Liu switched to another building for a panel on traditional Chinese medical treatment for the disease, followed by preparation for the next day's training session about ultrasonic examinations.

"I am getting used to extra work," Liu said.

Ge Ling, a nurse in charge of the quarantine ward, relies on her counterparts from Beijing. ''They give us a spiritual boost and help us feel at ease,'' she said.