Table 2 Additional quotations to support the themes

Offering oneself

Self-sacrifice for the greater good

How many times in a person’s life do you encounter a situation where our country needs you? I signed a waiver of assumption of risks and indemnity agreement to do this. (COVID-19 in-patient unit, nurse)

Mutual understanding

In our quarantine center, I tried to satisfy their physical and mental needs. And they would be more cooperative with the regulations. Not just telling them ‘you should……’. (Quarantine center, physician)

The most touching thing is that the relationship is closer in our department. We are more like family now, after all, we have experienced life and death together. We promised to go in together, come back together alive, and we just need to be safe and sound. (COVID-19 inpatient unit, nurse)

Balancing CC and containment measures

In our ICU, resources were limited. If we were busy and patients wanted to talk, we would prioritize pharmacological treatment over chatting with them. We have to admit our limitations and focus on more crucial things. (COVID-19 ICU, physician)

Physical violence may happen if we reinforce the policies aggressively (PCR testing, physician).

Creating an environment conducive to CC

We were not specialized in infectious diseases and were unprepared for the pandemic. Our leader kept telling us the steps and tips and everything became more and more standardized. (PCR testing, nurse)