Volunteers help municipality through difficult times

Contingent formed

At Cannes Town gated community, which is home to about 40,000 residents, more than 1,200 locals formed a volunteer contingent to cooperate with grassroots workers, medical professionals and police officers during the outbreak.

Resident Wang Bin, 34, who is acting as a volunteer, said, "Having seen the spread of the local outbreak continuing to accelerate in recent weeks, I couldn't sit still at home anymore. I wanted to do something to help."

He said testing at the community usually takes place from 8 am to 8 pm, a period during which many volunteers refrain from eating, drinking and going to the restroom in order to save time and having to change protective clothing.

"When I was handed a protective suit and goggles, I felt deeply proud. It was the most meaningful day for me so far this year," Wang said.

His job was to partner a fellow volunteer in guiding lines of residents－20 each time－from their building to the testing venue, and then escort them home, ensuring that the team of residents kept a distance from each other and other teams throughout the process.

The volunteers took care of the elderly and people in wheelchairs or with young children, and also checked each resident's identity card.

Wang said it was raining hard one day and many people complained as they waited in lines that did not move for more than half an hour.

"Only when I helped with the work did I realize just how difficult it is to organize people in a community with hundreds of tall buildings to undergo the tests in an orderly way. I constantly comforted them and helped those in need go through the green channel," he said.

"The temperature was only 7 C one night. I am short-sighted, so I need to wear glasses, but I had to frequently wipe raindrops from my protective shield. It is also hard to breathe in protective gear," he added.

Wang said he began to count the number of those he escorted for testing, but he gradually lost track. The last lines of residents awaiting tests were finally dealt with at 10 pm. All health workers and volunteers were also tested.

"After six days' hard work, I could sense that there were numerous workers on the frontline and also those toiling behind the scenes who have an affection and passion for the city at grassroots level to ensure that life continues as normally as possible. We really should express our gratitude to all of them," Wang added.

Li Min, 46, head of the neighborhood volunteers, said there were far more applicants for these jobs than the number of places to be filled.

She said some volunteers' suggestions prompted changes to the testing plan. "For example, the number of testing venues was raised from one to four to minimize the distance residents had to travel in such a huge neighborhood with nearly 300 high-rise buildings and also the chances of them gathering together."

Li suggested that pre-job training be improved to enable volunteers to better coordinate with each other. This would also help agreement to be reached on those granted access to green channels－avoiding disputes among residents.