National emergency medical teams from across China are now withdrawing from Hubei province and its capital and the former epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Wuhan, as the epidemic has effectively been controlled.

More than 42,000 medical workers and other personnel belonging to 346 medical rescue teams from across China rushed to Hubei between Jan 24 and March 8 to assist local medical workers. These medical workers have rendered remarkable service in the battle against the novel coronavirus over the past one and half months.

Hubei reported just one new infection case on Tuesday and the figure was in single digits throughout the past week. The first group of 49 medical rescue teams comprising more than 3,700 medical workers pulled out of Hubei the same day, after attending to novel coronavirus patients at seven designated and 14 makeshift hospitals in Wuhan.

The patients and residents of Hubei and the entire country have expressed their gratitude to the medical workers for attending to and curing patients by risking their own lives.

The Wuhan Culture and Tourism Bureau has released 32 online posters thanking the medical workers from 31 provinces and regions. Shenzhen Airlines is giving the returning medical workers "hero courtesy" cards, allowing them three free class upgrades.

These medical workers are the true heroes; without them the difficult fight against the virus could not have been won.

They derived happiness from seeing the patients recovering from the novel coronavirus and people at the epicenter of China's outbreak and in the rest of the country returning to their normal lives.

Society should not forget their brave deeds and should strive to promote a healthy social environment by respecting medical workers and safeguarding their legal rights and interests.