Wang Shuangning, a Wuhan resident who has recovered from COVID-19, took 33 minutes to swim across the Yangtze River on May 19, setting a new personal record.

(Photo/Wuhan Evening News)

Wang, a volunteer of the Wuhan Yangtze River rescue team, together with several other team members who had been cured of COVID-19, started their crossing beside the Hanyang Gate and swam to Wangjiaxiang Ferry Port.

This was the 12th time that Wang has swum in the Yangtze River with other recovered team members after being cured, as part of a promise they had made to each other during treatment.

Wang has crossed the river several times since joining the rescue team in 2016, and rescued many drowning people from the water along with his companions.

The 60-year-old resident started to suffer a low fever on Jan. 26, and realized that he may have been infected with the novel coronavirus.

(Photo/Wuhan Evening News)

From Jan. 26 to Feb. 7, he underwent intravenous therapy every day. However, anxiety and lowered immunity had made his condition much worse by the time he was admitted into hospital on Feb. 8.

By that point, he was unable to breathe lying on the bed and had to undergo high-flow oxygen therapy and was also stricken by anorexia and insomnia, just like most other severe patients, according to Wang.

To boost his immunity, Wang would listen to the nurses and try his best to swallow the food they gave him. "Medical workers already have enough on their plates. We need to cooperate and not make more trouble for them," he said.

He was cured and discharged on March 19 and received a green health code on April 20, indicating that he is in relatively healthy condition and can go to public places.

"The medical workers saved me from 'drowning' in the virus. Now that I have retired, I hope to have a career saving people from the Yangtze River in the future," said Wang.