Supplies of medication donated by HIV patients to help those with novel coronavirus pneumonia. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

A group of people in China living with HIV are providing a helping hand to patients who have come down with novel coronavirus pneumonia.

On hearing that the medication Kaletra, part of the antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV-1, had been used on some of those stricken by the epidemic, Andy Li, who is HIV-positive and lives in Zhengzhou, Henan province, decided to act.

"I have mobilized a civilian self-help campaign," Li said. "It isn't about HIV or any of us－we just want to help save some lives."

The 30-year-old has been on medication to treat HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus, for eight years. For the past two years, he has run a drug-sharing network for HIV patients in China.

The central government provides free medication and treatment for those with HIV, so none of this medication is available for public sale

The central government provides free medication and treatment for those with HIV, so none of this medication is available for public sale. However, Li said that sometimes people are not able to collect their pills in time at local centers for disease control, or lose them while traveling.

It is vitally important that medication for HIV is taken regularly to avoid drug resistance, Li said, underscoring the need for those with the disease to have their pills every day.

Li, who goes by the online name "HIV Brother Squirrel", initially posted requests for pills on WeChat, gradually forming a group of volunteers in more than 12 cities nationwide who were prepared to donate any surplus supplies.

"Some people have stockpiled a little more medication than they need and some have changed to a different therapy. They have donated their surplus pills to us, so that we can provide prompt help to people in urgent need," Li said, adding that such action does not pose a health risk.

Those who received the pills often later send new supplies to Li by mail, enabling him to build up a stock of anti-viral medication and keep the network running.

When the novel coronavirus outbreak began in Wuhan, Hubei province, Li first tried to help those with HIV in the city store up their medication and obtain protective equipment, including face masks. He decided to act after hearing that Kaletra had been used to good effect in Bangkok, Thailand, on people infected with the virus.

On Jan 22, the National Health Commission of China launched the third-edition trial treatment protocol for novel coronavirus pneumonia. This treatment included the use of interferon along with Kaletra. It is part of the treatment protocol for HIV-1, and given free to patients in China. For the fourth-edition trial, it was recommended that use of Kaletra should continue.

Ma Wenke has insisted on continuing to work at a convenience store near a medical quarantine center in Shanghai. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

On Feb 2, Zhang Dingyu, president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, said at the news conference that the institution was the first in China to use Kaletra to treat patients with the virus. "It seems that Kaletra is effective on patients with early symptoms. It can help prevent the disease from becoming life-threatening, but stronger evidence of this is also needed," Zhang said.

Late last month, Li decided to donate his surplus pills and also called on others with HIV to follow suit. As a result, people throughout the country began to send him supplies.

There was a rapid response, he said. "I posted the message on Jan 25, and within a few days I had received more than 40 bottles of Kaletra pills from people with HIV to help battle the outbreak."

One netizen, who replied anonymously to Li's request, said: "I have four extra bottles of Kaletra. I've been on anti-HIV medication for 10 years. I am in good health … you don't have to worry about me. I can donate these four bottles."

Another, using the name "Head Wolf", said, "If it were the case that people with HIV are resistant to the novel coronavirus, I would be the first to volunteer to work on the front-line, in gratitude for the care I've received from the nation as a patient with HIV."

Li said:"Because Kaletra has been used solely to treat HIV, it has not been accessible for physicians in general hospitals. So even if doctors in Wuhan wanted to prescribe it for patients with this form of pneumonia, they often couldn't get any."

Some patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia soon approached Li asking for pills. "I asked them to show their diagnosis and ID, and told them about the potential risks and side effects, before sending the pills to them," he said.

A vlogger in Wuhan, using the name "Spider Monkey Bread", volunteered to drive around the city and deliver pills to patients, and this proved more efficient than using direct mail

A vlogger in Wuhan, using the name "Spider Monkey Bread", volunteered to drive around the city and deliver pills to patients, and this proved more efficient than using direct mail. In less than a week, they managed to deliver enough pills to treat 90 patients, including medical workers.

"We heard that the temperature of one patient dropped soon after Kaletra was administered," Li said.

According to an updated treatment protocol issued on Feb 5, no antiviral medication had proved effective to treat novel coronavirus pneumonia. The protocol also drew attention to the possible side effects of Kaletra, such as gastrointestinal reaction and impaired liver function.

However, Li continued to receive a flood of requests for the pills, as some medical workers believed that Kaletra had a positive effect on patients in a non-critical condition.

He and some close friends also bought supplies of Kaletra from an Indian pharmaceutical company, brought them to China and distributed them among patients. "A patent has long been overdue for Kaletra, but because of the high cost and low profit, you can't count on the drug being manufactured quickly in China," he said.

On the night of Feb 12, Li posted a chart on his Sina Weibo account, listing feedback from more than 60 patients taking his donated medicine. Many reported "alleviated symptoms", "fever brought down", but in a few cases patients had to stop taking the pills because of diarrhea.

Convenience stores

Meanwhile, in Shanghai's Yangpu district, a young employee moves around a convenience store, clad in goggles, a face mask and gloves.

He checks the freshness of food, tidies the shelves and disinfects the store as usual. Everything appears to be normal, apart from the fact that it is the only store in the street still open.

Part of the Bianlifeng chain, the store is just under 170 meters from a medical quarantine and observation center for those suspected to be infected with novel coronavirus pneumonia.

All other nearby stores, restaurants and supermarkets are closed.

Ma Wenke, a 21-year-old employee, has insisted on continuing to work at the store."At a time like this, it's essential that local residents have somewhere to buy daily necessities. This should be guaranteed," he said.

Ma Wenke has insisted on continuing to work at a convenience store near a medical quarantine center in Shanghai. (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Convenience stores operated by Bianlifeng remained open round-the-clock throughout Spring Festival. Other convenience stores and supermarkets, including Family Mart and Hema Fresh, have all remained open. The market supervisory authority in Shanghai, meanwhile, is strictly monitoring goods and materials and is cracking down on any price hikes.

Ma and two other employees work at the store in Yangpu. Each works an eight-hour shift to ensure it remains open 24 hours.

"The number of customers has fallen by about one-third since Spring Festival, and the streets are largely deserted," Ma said.

He added that no customers are admitted unless they are wearing face masks. All areas of the store are disinfected each day by employees wearing goggles and masks, who have their temperatures taken to ensure the safety of customers and themselves.

"Even though people are seldom going out these days, they still need to eat. Some residents don't want to cook, or don't know how to cook by themselves. While all the restaurants are closed, our boxed meals have become very important," Ma said.

He added that these meals are now among the store's best-selling products, along with rice balls, sushi and milk.

He has met many police officers and medical workers from observation points, who visit the store to buy daily necessities. He also offers them a free delivery service and provides them with his phone number.

However, he no longer receives calls from one observation point, as medical workers there have told Ma they don't want him to run the risk of infection.

But there are people who still need him－he has been delivering goods for elderly people living nearby who are unable to go out to shop.

Ma is aware of the risk of infection, as his parents are doctors in his hometown of Linxia, Gansu province.

"They are very worried about me and call me nearly every day to check on my health and to give me suggestions. I send a photo to them of myself checking my temperature every day, and also wear protective clothing," Ma said.

"But I have not told them I'm working so close to the observation center, as I don't want them to be any more worried than they already are."

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Li Nianbang cuts the hair of medical workers for free at a temporary barbershop in Yichang, Hubei province.  (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Barber keeps busy

With the roads in Yichang, Hubei, largely deserted, barber Li Nianbang has been driving to a hotel near Third People's Hospital of Yichang to cut the hair of medical workers battling the outbreak.

As he works in a temporary barbershop in the hotel lobby, Li, 53, wears a face mask, rubber gloves and other protective clothing. He also carries alcohol disinfection when he moves around the building.

A friend who is a doctor tried to persuade him not to do such work, saying, "You outsiders may be unable to imagine how severe the situation is."

On Jan 25, Lunar New Year's Day, Li raised 24,000 yuan (US$3,444) for five hospitals in the non-profit environmental group he launched in 2015 to collect rubbish along the Yangtze River in Yichang. He is better known in the city as the founder of the NGO than for being a barber.

He bought milk and bread with the donated money, and when he was carrying the supplies into the hospital building, a worker asked if he could do medical professionals a favor by cutting their hair for free. He immediately agreed.

Li Nianbang cuts the hair of medical workers for free at a temporary barbershop in Yichang, Hubei province.  (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

Li said of his work in a WeChat post, "I have never been so proud of being a barber."

To reduce the risk of infection, more than 200 staff members at the hospital have been told not to return home and are shuttling between their workplace and the hotel.

They shower in their rooms before going downstairs to have their hair cut. Li's clients are easygoing, their only request being that he cut their hair short.

Working soaked in sweat under layers of protective clothing, the workers' hair has grown long－a burden many of them are only too eager to shed.

"Many breathe a huge sigh of relief after I cut their hair," Li said."I bet they feel as if a huge weight has been taken off their head."

But some female medical workers have been heartbroken to lose their long hair－dyed and permed at considerable expense for Spring Festival celebrations. They compromised by agreeing to keep it neck-length. Work is the priority, they said.

Li's clients talk little about the outbreak, seeing a visit to him as a brief respite from their labors.

But on the few occasions he has forgotten to disinfect the tools of his trade, he has been reminded of the tense atmosphere in which the workers toil, as his next customer immediately sprays alcohol disinfectant on his scissors, apron and throughout the salon.

Liu usually works at the hotel from 1 pm to 8 pm. On Feb 8 and 9, he cut the hair of some 80 medical workers. He works as fast as he can, taking an average of five minutes on each.

"It's not easy being here. It's not for fun or for putting on a show," Li said."I am trying to cut the hair of as many of these workers as I can."

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He was planning to complete 120 haircuts for the workers over three days, but his wife developed a cough, disrupting his schedule.

Li is concerned about her, as he fears he could have been infected by the virus.

He has decided to stay at home for several days' quarantine, and if he does not develop any symptoms he will resume his work at the hotel. Several other hospitals have also asked him for help.