A patient surnamed Liu who had severe symptoms of COVID-19 wrote a letter to the medical staff in his intensive care unit on April 20, 2020 to express his gratitude for their efforts to bring him back to life. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A patient who suffered severe symptoms of COVID-19 wrote a letter in his intensive care unit on Monday to express his gratitude towards the medical staff who worked hard to bring him back to life.

"Without the dedication and the contribution of the medical staff, I wouldn't have come back to life," the patient, surnamed Liu, wrote on a piece of paper in his bed in the ICU at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, the city hardest hit by the epidemic on the Chinese mainland.

Liu, in his 60s, was diagnosed with novel coronavirus pneumonia in late January andon March 12 was transferred to an ICU at Leishenshan Hospital, a temporary hospital built in early February in response to the outbreak in Wuhan, because of his severe situation.