'Qualified and needed'

When Qin arrived, the city was combating its third outbreak－the first triggered by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

"I was hunting for a job and found that the city was recruiting healthcare workers to fight the virus. I figured that as a newly graduated healthcare worker, I would be qualified and needed here, so I quickly sent off an application," said the native of Yunnan's Dali Bai autonomous prefecture, about six hours' drive from Ruili.

"I didn't tell my parents that I was heading for Ruili until right before I got on the bus," she said.

"Even then, I told them that I would not be in close contact with confirmed patients and would only assist with ancillary work."

In reality, she had been employed to undertake a wide variety of jobs, from treating the open wounds of people undergoing quarantine, to sanitizing rooms and helping to transfer patients.

"The first time I knew that a patient I had helped at a designated hotel had later tested positive for the virus, I did not sleep well for two nights," she said. "Now, I am more confident because I know that the risk of infection is very low if people abide strictly by all the personal protection regulations."

Before entering quarantined areas, Qin received a week's training provided by experts in the prevention of hospital-acquired infections. As knowledge about the virus continues to grow, such protocols are constantly being refined.

Qin said at least 10 of her classmates came to Ruili after graduation.