Stranded tourists help with COVID-19 control

Donning a hazmat suit, Lai Yuming began his volunteer work to help with nucleic acid testing at a hotel in Sanya, a coastal resort city in South China's Hainan province.

Lai, a physician at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Central China's Hunan province, came to Sanya for a trip with his colleagues.

But their travel plans were disrupted by the sudden resurgence of COVID-19 on the island, and they were stranded with more than 3,000 other tourists at the airport as their return flights were canceled.

Local authorities later made arrangements with 11 hotels for their temporary stay. But, instead of staying at the hotel and waiting, Lai and his colleagues decided to volunteer to aid the local effort to bring the outbreak under control.

"The local government and hotel staff have done a lot for us, and we hope to do as much as possible to help Sanya," Lai says.

Lai's colleague, Liu Meifang, also joined the volunteer work. "We're grateful for the arrangements made by the Sanya government," Liu says.

From Aug 1-9, over 2,400 COVID-19 infections were reported in Hainan, of which about 1,900 cases were detected in Sanya.