An anti-epidemic drama called 24 Hours of Life and Death by the Tianjin Northern Performing Group premiered in Tianjin on July 3.

The drama records the swift action taken by the city to deal with the fever cases onboard the "Costa Serena", an international cruise ship carrying 4,000 people, which returned to Tianjin on Jan 25 after traveling to Fukuoka and Sasebo, Japan.

Director Zhong Hai said that since April, the performers have polished and enriched the story by interviewing the staff who were there.

The stage vividly recreates the approaching cruise ship, and the story includes the temperature screenings of all the travelers and the transportation of medical samples of 17 fever cases via helicopter, to the results, all negative, of nucleic acid tests which were implemented within 24 hours.

After the checks, passengers from Hubei, then the epicenter of the COVID-19 virus in China, were sent to a centralized quarantine facility, and others were allowed to leave. After 14 days of quarantine, with free medical assistance, accommodation, food services and stringent health checks, the Hubei passengers were cleared.

This drama has been created to honor the anti-epidemic achievements by the people of the whole country, who were united by their arduous efforts.