"We meet again at last" was all Cao Xiaoshan, 73, could say when she saw Wang Xiujiang, a doctor, on Thursday in Changchun, Jilin province after a 200-day absence.

Cao, from Wuhan, Hubei province, had visited Wang in March, and he helped cure her novel coronavirus pneumonia. He was a visiting member of the first medical team from Jilin to support Hubei province, the earliest epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

Wang, from the department of lung disease at the Affiliated Hospital of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, started work in the Zhongfaxincheng campus of Tongji Hospital affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology immediately after his arrival in February.

Cao was his first patient. She was still in serious condition when she came to him after 28 days of hospital treatment. Her age and underlying diseases, including bladder cancer made her a high-risk patient.

"I was suffering severe chest tightness, chest pain, breathing difficulties and other symptoms caused by the novel coronavirus. It made me feel extremely desperate and helpless," she said. "Wang's encouragement helped me calm down."