Reporter documents life in makeshift hospital

From one aspect, Liu Xiaojing is just one COVID-19 case in Shanghai.

Liu's community in Minhang district, where he lives with his mother, wife and daughter, started closed-loop management on March 17. The family tested positive with COVID-19 on April 8. On April 10, three of them were transferred to a fangcang, or makeshift hospital, in the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center for centralized quarantine.

A journalist for 17 years and a photographer for local news portal Eastday, Liu decided to use his camera to record life in the fangcang even though his chief editor warned him to make his treatment the priority.

"Although I have experienced symptoms such as cough and fever as a patient, I am also a reporter," Liu said. "So I decided to record my experience in the form of a diary from the day of diagnosis.

"Defining myself as a patient, my diary angles will be more subjective. I set a boundary for myself to observe and experience as much as possible without interviewing other patients," he explained.

The fangcang where Liu is staying, one of the earliest established in Shanghai during the current outbreak, is mainly for mild and asymptomatic infections.

Since he arrived, the hospital has taken in more than 7,300 patients. It has been run by a medical team from Fujian province since April 9.

After settling down, Liu walked around with his camera late at night.

He saw most patients asleep, but each section had nurses on duty busy checking patient information and using computers. They have to check patients in who arrive in the early hours.

"I was impressed by the number of patients, beds and the medical staff," Liu said.