Editor's note: A total of 220 teams comprising more than 32,000 medical workers had arrived in Hubei province from across the country by Monday. China Daily chronicles their work in a series of interviews with the doctors and nurses.

Scores of doctors and nurses from Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai are helping in the fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, the contagion's epicenter.

A list of names of the 135 medical workers who were about to be sent by the hospital to the stricken city was issued on Feb 9. The previous evening, the number of applicants had exceeded the total places available in just two hours.

Xue Kai, a doctor from the hospital's hematology department, joined the contingent directly when it left for the airport after being given last-minute approval, becoming the 136th member of the team.

The previous evening, his services had been declined after the hospital learned that his wife is due to give birth this month.