A 102-year-old woman who has recovered from COVID-19 is being taken good care of at a rehabilitation center in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I am not a person with disabilities and don't need others to feed me. I can have food by myself," she said.

Before each meal, Liu asks Xiong what she wants and put all the dishes she selected on a small table on the bed. "She's particularly fond of sweet food," said Liu, who is happy to see that Grandma Xiong is getting better day by day.

Liu said Xiong will stay at the center for a few more days, despite finishing the quarantine, as the care center for seniors Xiong lived in before getting sick was shut down for the epidemic.

"Grandma Xiong is like my family and I wish her happiness every day," Liu said.

In Wuhan, there are a total of eight people aged over 100 who caught COVID-19 and seven of them have recovered, including Xiong.

She is the oldest person at the center and two nurses, Liu Yaqi, who is in her 20s, is one of the nurses responsible for taking care of her. Every day at 11 am, Liu comes to help Xiong wash her hands and feet and change her diaper.

"Thank you so much," Xiong said, holding Liu's hands in her own and giving the young woman a thumbs up to show her gratitude.

"We all treat Grandma Xiong as our own great-grandmother," Liu said. "We take care of all the daily stuff for her and talk with her. She's a funny woman with a cheerful attitude and sometimes tells jokes to us."

However, when Xiong was first transferred to the rehabilitation center, she was like a totally different person. She was quiet and looked unhappy for quite a few days.

"At that time, she couldn't adjust to the environment at the center and was reluctant to have meals," Liu recalled. "She even raised her fist at us, thinking that it would threaten us away."

Liu didn't flee. Rather, she contacted Xiong's eldest son and helped Xiong have a video chat with her son, which helped ease the senior's anxiety and cheered her up. After one-month's care, the 102-year-old is now in a good mood and in good health.

"Now whenever we make ward rounds, Grandma Xiong will talk to us and cooperate with us to do a good job," Liu said.

Xiong also is trying to take care of herself and reduce the nurses' burden. She insists on having meals on her own rather than being fed, though she has difficulties in moving because of her advanced age.