Recently Nanfang Hospital Affiliated to Southern Medical University (SMU) has sent a medical team to Honghu on a mission to treat Covid-19 patients. Coincidentally, 22 years ago, SMU's former-First Military Medical University (FMMU) sent a medical team made up of public health experts and medical workers to support Honghu in public health protection and epidemic prevention.

In 1998, the army and the people of the whole country stayed together to fight the catastrophic flood of the Yangtze River. Honghu (The Jing River) is a perilous reach of the Yangtze River. In the post-disaster reconstruction, Honghu was weak in epidemic prevention for lack of medical services and supplies. Epidemic prevention was a thorny problem facing Honghu then. In the time of crisis, FMMU delivered medical, drug and educational resources to Jingzhou and Honghu, and sent experts to Honghu's flood-hit area for a survey and epidemic prevention guidance.

Besides, FMMU sent an expert team led by Zou Fei, Dean of the School of Public Health to Honghu. They headed to rural areas for work guidance and made positive contributions to Honghu's post-disaster epidemic prevention. Zhang Xiaoping, a professor from Honghu at SMU and FMMU's contact for Honghu aid in 1998, was excited when he recalled the scene of aiding Honghu.

22 years later, at the call of the CPC Central Committee, the medical team of Nanfang Hospital headed to Honghu, Jingzhou again to fight the epidemic together with Honghu people.

The traditional virtue of "When a disaster strikes, help comes from all sides", the spirit of "Staying united, facing up to difficulties, fighting hard and daring to win" upheld in the 1998 flood fight, and Honghu's spirit of "keeping fighting, forging ahead and overcoming all difficulties are coherent. Facing the sudden epidemic, SMU's medical workers scrambled to apply for joining Honghu people in fighting the epidemic. Apart from the hospital, numberless cadres and people have gone all out for material support, livelihood supply and basic prevention, contributed to building a tight defensive line of mass prevention and treatment, raced with the epidemic, and worked together to win the anti-epidemic battle.