Du Bin, medical ICU director of the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, who is now a member of a national medical team in the hard-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, speaks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, March 16, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Social distancing, protecting health workers and having a detailed plan for different stages of the epidemic are vital for tackling COVID-19, frontline doctors said on March 16.

Du Bin, director of the intensive care unit at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, is coming to an end as all makeshift hospitals in the city had been closed and remaining patients were transferred to a few designated hospitals.

Du said there are many things the world can learn from China's experience, but one of the key lessons is prevention and containment efforts should be just as important as treatment, if not more.

The second lesson is "you must have a plan, because failure to prepare is preparing for failure," he said. "Even now in Wuhan, where there is fewer and fewer confirmed cases, we are still vigilant and preparing for future sporadic and imported cases."

Wu dong, a physician of gastroenterology from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, speaks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, March 16, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Wu Dong, deputy chief physician at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said he has been treating critical patients in ICU since arriving in the city and the best advice he could give is that health workers must protect themselves both against the virus and the mental stress.

"In the last few days, we know that our European colleagues are also contracting the disease during their daily practice, and the proportion is similar to that during the early days of Wuhan," he said. "So we must protect our medical staffs."

Moreover, Wu said working in the ICU is a stressful job and the mortality rate of patients is relatively high. "Physicians may lose some of their patients no matter how hard they try to save their lives; this can easily damage morale," he said.

It is imperative that doctors are not overworked and try to rest and relax and recover from the exhaustion, he said. "Doctors should take very good care of themselves."

Cao Wei, a physician of infectious diseases from Peking Union Medical College Hospital, speaks at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province, March 16, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua]

Cao Wei, deputy head of infection medicine at the hospital, said self-isolation and social distancing are important ways to curb the spread of the disease, but this should be done tactfully.

"If you are self-isolating, make sure you are the right person to do home isolation, that means you should not live with people who are susceptible to the disease, like the elderly and those with underlying health conditions," she said. "If you think you have the virus, the most important thing is to not let your family get the virus from you."

In addition, it is important to have another family member or a friend to monitor the isolated person's conditions. "If you experience persistent high fever, shortness of breath, or altered mental state, it is time for you to go to a doctor and seek help," she added.