Committees playing key role to stop the virus spreading

For Shi Wenyun, Spring Festival this year meant abandoning traditional family activities to concentrate on helping the battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Instead of catching up with relatives over copious amounts of food during the holiday, Shi and his neighbors, some of whom he had never met before, ensured that the 3,000 residents of Shanghai's Shengping neighborhood were protected against the epidemic.

As the Party branch secretary of the neighborhood, which is situated in Jing'an district, Shi has been spearheading efforts to curb the spread of the virus. The first measure he took was to block all entry points to the neighborhood except for the main entrance, allowing guards to monitor the flow of people entering and leaving the community.

All those entering the neighborhood must register and have their temperature taken. Residents returning to Shanghai from other provinces must also quarantine themselves for three days. Delivery drivers who are not wearing facemasks have been refused entry.

In addition, people who have recently traveled from Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, or other cities in Hubei, are barred entry.

Shi has also instructed members of the neighborhood committee to make house visits, during which they learn about each resident's health status and whether they have recently traveled out of Shanghai or been in contact with people from other cities on the Chinese mainland.

Since daily health checks were implemented before Spring Festival, the community has identified one resident who has had close contact with a person suspected to be infected with the novel coronavirus. The 43-year-old Shanghai resident had traveled to Wuhan to attend his company's annual dinner, where he met a colleague who later developed symptoms and was quarantined. The Shanghai resident was made to stay home for three days. Shi said: "He was very cooperative. During the quarantine period, all his meals were delivered by members of the neighborhood committee and his daily domestic waste was collected by the property management staff and disposed of properly. He was released from quarantine after three days when his colleague was given the all-clear."

Shengping is just one example of how neighborhood committees throughout the country's most cosmopolitan city have been playing their role in curbing the spread of the outbreak.

In the Kangcheng neighborhood in Minhang district, which is home to more than 40,000 people, half of whom are not permanent residents of Shanghai, security guards have been working longer hours to implement screening measures at three entry points.

Zhang Junping, deputy director of the community committee, said: "Our security guards can only take a break when they're having their meals. Each of them now works around 15 hours every day. We have also had to suspend their days off for the time being."

Due to a lack of manpower, the district has put out a request for community volunteers. To date, more than 20 are waiting to be given positions as security guards at the community's entry points.

Zhang said the committee spends 3,000 yuan ($429) every day to disinfect the community, including the elevators and lobbies of the 286 residential buildings, the parking areas, children's parks and activity rooms for seniors