Volunteers to help residential areas under lockdown

Volunteers have been arranged to buy life supplies for residents in the 11 residential areas in Beijing's Fengtai district locked down due to new confirmed cases of COVID-19 traced to a nearby market, a Beijing official said on Saturday.

Restrictions were imposed on the 11 residential communities surrounding Xinfadi, one of Beijing's major agricultural products markets, starting 3 am on Saturday, in response to the emergence of new local cases, said Chu Junwei, acting head of Fengtai district at a briefing on Saturday.

Party members and volunteers have been organized to provide assistance to the residents in the communities to guarantee their daily life, including purchasing living necessities for them, according to Chu.

For patients with special conditions in the communities, necessary adaptive measures should be taken. Special personnel will accompany them when they go out to see the doctor, he said.

Also, protective knowledge and other content will be provided through television and mobile application to make them feel comfortable at home, he added.

According to Wang Hongcun, an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, emergency measures are in place to guarantee food supply during the closure of Xinfadi agricultural products wholesale market starting on Saturday.

The market is an important food supply center in Beijing. The temporary closure may have an important impact on the supply of vegetables and fruits, Wang said.

Vegetables and fruits previously traded in the market have been moved to five designated areas for trading. All temporary trading venues will be exempted from entry fees and will not receive individual consumer, according to him.