Bangladeshi doctor urges China to allow her to serve coronavirus patients in Wuhan

A Bangladeshi doctor has urged the Chinese government to allow her access to the locked-down Wuhan city so that she can serve coronavirus patients at the epicentre of a global outbreak.

Syeda Zerin Imam, a doctoral student of Shandong University in China’s Jinan province, who is currently in Bangladesh, had recently handed a letter to the Chinese embassy expressing her intent.

An official at the embassy told bdnews24.com on Wednesday that they have not arrived at a decision on Zerin. The embassy released a copy of her letter on Facebook.

“[From] the bottom of my heart I want to say that I love China as much as [I love] my own country,” she wrote in the emotional application.

“I remember the neighbour who helped me in climbing the sixth floor with forty litres of water bottles. I remember the lady who sold vegetables near my dorm and everyday kept the best lemons for me and her 5 years old daughter with the smile on her face used to run towards me to play every evening.” Zerin recalled, saying she would never forget them.

“In this time of difficulties, I just want to say [to] you all that you are not alone for any reason. I will be there for you.

“Though I am only a mere human being and have a very little life to have and maybe I am not that much strong but I have the heart and courage to give it all to you and not let you die,” she wrote.

Zerin, a dental specialist, took a postgraduate degree on public health from North South University in Dhaka. She had worked in Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and BARDEM Hospital. Her doctoral research is based on a 2017 chikungunya outbreak in Dhaka.