Several news reporters from Zhejiang province share their news coverage experiences during the COVID-19 epidemic at the provincial government's 37th press conference on epidemic control on March 19. [Photo/zjnews.zjol.com]

The Zhejiang provincial government held its 37th press conference on epidemic control on March 19 and invited nine local news reporters to share their experiences in covering what the province has been doing to control the COVID-19 epidemic since the outbreak began two months ago.

They visited local hospitals, factories, bus stations and communities, where they discovered many touching stories of common people playing their part in epidemic control, such as a bus driver voluntarily taking a uremia patient to the hospital for regular hemodialysis, and a grassroots cadre walking on crutches to visit local households for inspection.

Some of the reporters were dispatched to Wuhan to cover stories there.

Wang Jianying, a news reporter with Zhejiang Daily, was dispatched to Wuhan on Jan 25, the first day of the Spring Festival. He said he was impressed by the city's efforts every day during his stay.

"When I saw nearly 6,000 medics coming from all around the country to help Wuhan, I knew that we would surely win the battle against the epidemic," said Wang.

Wang Jianying (left), a news reporter with Zhejiang Daily, shares his experiences live broadcasting in Wuhan, Hubei province at the press conference on March 19. [Photo/zjnews.zjol.com]

Wang said he was also motivated by local medics who were very happy to see reporters cover their stories and regarded their articles as valuable records.

Shi Lei, a news reporter with Zhejiang Radio & TV Group, mentioned a young nurse in Wuhan who took care of a critically-ill patient. When the patient recovered consciousness, the nurse called his family and couldn’t help but cry when hearing his little daughter encouraging him to be brave and seeing tears running down the cheeks of the patient.

The reporters said they also received acts of kindness from the public, such as a bottle of alcohol given by a property manager and a bowl of soup from community workers.

"We want to record real stories so that the public can see everything that was happening in the country at this time. I think this is what really matters for us news reporters on the frontlines," said one reporter.