Neighborhoods on front line

Before the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, community official Liu Juan's daily work mostly revolved around the maintenance of old houses and solving disputes between residents－but now she's on the front line of the neighborhood's fight against infectious disease.

"The outbreak hit us out of the blue, and we were totally unprepared," said Liu, deputy director of the Weiqun community's residential committee.

Although the outbreak was first reported in December and linked to a seafood market in Wuhan, it only began to impact the work of Liu and her colleagues several days before the city was sealed off in late January.

"Things suddenly became serious, and new suspected cases were reported in the community almost every day," she said. "We have been working around clock every day to control and prevent the disease, including telling residents how to prevent and control the virus through loudspeakers and WeChat (a popular social media platform), helping transport residents in need to hospitals and keeping in touch with suspected cases through WeChat so they can get necessary help while staying indoors for quarantine."

Although official working hours for the nine workers in the community office start at 8 am, Liu has to start at least an hour earlier every day. She said the first thing she does each morning is to spray disinfectant around the residential area.

"Sometimes I have to wear an isolation gown to deliver breakfast to some people under quarantine, mostly the elderly, if their family members are not available," Liu said.

The residential committee has 12 workers, but the director has been hospitalized with a novel coronavirus infection that was confirmed in mid-January. Two others are off duty for reasons such as pregnancy, leaving nine on duty now, she said.

"Most of us had never had any training in public health, so we were also afraid of infection at first," said Liu, who previously worked as an assistant at a local hospital. That has enabled her to pass on some medical knowledge to community residents.

Wang Hui, a worker from a house cleaning company in Wuhan, said he had been assigned to provide sterilization services to the community every day since late January. Wearing a protective gown, he carries a container of disinfectant weighing about 20 kilograms and sprays the steps of all the community's approximately 2,000 homes.

"Every day I have to sterilize twice, in the morning and afternoon, and spray all areas in the buildings, including corridors, lifts, handrails and garbage bins," he said.

His 300 colleagues had also been kept busy over the past three weeks helping to disinfect communities across Wuhan, he said.

"Climbing stairs carrying the heavy container is the most difficult part, as many residential buildings in the community are old and not equipped with elevators," he said.

"Even if a building has an elevator I have to go down the stairs on foot after the elevator is sterilized. Every time I finish sterilizing a building my clothes are soaked in sweat."

Liu said a major part of her daily work was to follow up on residents displaying symptoms such as coughs or fevers.

"I will give them telephone calls asking about their condition, such as whether they have a cough or feel fatigued, and ask them to take their body temperature every day," she said.

As residents now prefer to stay indoors to guard against infection, Liu also shares the latest information on the virus and its diagnosis and treatment with them through WeChat, and provides counseling for those who are worried.

"Some people get worried even if they have developed minor symptoms, and I will tell them not to panic," she said. "I always tell myself I cannot fear. If we fear, who will take care of the elders in the neighborhood?

"We need to be optimistic and have confidence that we can win the war against the virus."