Helping others is priority for this family

A FAMILY of three in Jiading Industrial Zone were so busy with community epidemic prevention measures that in 20 or more days they rarely saw each other and communicated mainly through WeChat.

Zhou Li is Party secretary of Loutang Community and her husband Wu Xueliang is property manager of the Pufa Xiangshe Neighborhood. Their son Wu Jiacheng is an assistant police officer at Yecheng Police Station after graduating from college last year.

The sudden epidemic disrupted the family’s Spring Festival. Since Chinese New Year’s Eve, the couple have thrown themselves into community epidemic prevention work from before dawn till after dark. For more than 20 days, their only family gathering was a New Year’s Eve’s dinner.

A large number of people returned to Loutang Community after the holiday, with 127 from key epidemic areas required to be quarantined. Zhou was in charge of ensuring they had their daily necessities.

When people asked for fresh vegetables, Zhou picked some from the community’s vegetable garden and distributed them to quarantined households.

When some residents questioned her about the health of returnees, Zhou patiently dispelled their concerns by saying: “Every returnee had passed the check at road junctions. We have a list of their names and have screened one household after another. Please feel assured.”

When a noodle restaurant in the area resumed operation, Zhou visited to caution the owner to do take-away business only.

“When you are preparing the food, you should ask the customer to wait outside. Dining-in is not allowed as it may trigger disease spreading,” she said.

Wu, as a property manager, supervises disinfection at the neighborhood, goods distribution and entry or exit procedures. He also takes night shift to keep watch.

Their son received an order to do traffic checks at a Huaqiao junction on January 27.

“Having chosen the job, I have chosen to walk in harm’s way. I will grow through this experience,” the 22-year-old told his parents.

Wu’s traffic control work consisted of alternating day and night shifts.

“During the night shifts, we have some time to rest. But daybreak is the most trying time, I feel really exhausted at that time,” said Wu.

For more than 20 days, the family’s concern for each other is expressed through WeChat messages.

Zhou’s family is among the many ordinary Chinese families that have joined the national battle against the epidemic. They believe a a family is a model of a country and a country is an assemblage of tens of thousands of such families.

(Translated by Yang Yang)