Feature: Couple fighting epidemic in east China's Suzhou

NANJING, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chen Zhiqiang, Party Secretary of Renfu Village in the city of Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, made over 100 calls on Valentine's Day last Monday, but none to his wife.

However, it was kind of romantic for the couple, as they agreed it was a silent way to support each other and show their love during an epidemic.

With a population of over 12 million, Suzhou is fighting a fresh outbreak of COVID-19. A total of 88 confirmed cases as well as 23 asymptomatic carriers had been reported as of Sunday afternoon since Feb. 13.

Measures including nucleic acid testing, epidemiological investigation and contact tracing have been stepped up. People from various walks of life have also been mobilized.

Early Monday morning, Chen received a message from his wife Shen Yan, a nurse at Suzhou No.9 People's Hospital: "Was it busy yesterday? Keep it up today!"

"I am perfectly fine, and you must get some rest whenever possible," he replied.

The couple has been working on the frontlines and they have not seen each other since Feb. 13. Even a phone call is a luxury, so they mostly communicate through WeChat messages.

Chen needed to arrange a new round of nucleic acid testing for his fellow villagers on Monday, and assist medical staff to make sure their needs were met.

"Home has become a distant concept for me these days. I napped in my office. There are always new things coming up to be coordinated," Chen said.

Not far from Chen's village, Shen and her colleagues were busy at a nucleic acid testing site. She had conducted tests in many locations over the previous week. Sometimes she had to spend the night at testing sites.

Two years ago when the COVID-19 hit Wuhan, she was among the supporting team to assist the central Chinese city and worked there for over 50 days.

"She departed on the Lantern Festival, a traditional occasion for family reunions in China. I was concerned for her. There were far too many uncertainties at the time," Chen said.

But this time, Chen was much more relaxed.

"The medical staff, volunteers, and other assisting personnel have been professional and patient, and the villagers collaborated well," Chen said. "I am confident that we will be able to overcome the epidemic as quickly as possible."

"Tuesday is our eldest daughter's birthday, and we expect to celebrate it together. Also interestingly, the day -- Feb. 22 of 2022 -- has so many number 2s in it, and the pronunciation of 2 is similar to 'love' in spoken Chinese. It's a good chance to make up for Valentine's Day," Chen said.