Nonstop work at the epicenter
On his first day as an airport official tasked with COVID-19 prevention and control, Wu Ge was assigned to prepare a waiting area at Terminal 1 of Pudong International Airport specifically for transit passengers.
The task would’ve been challenging for most people — it had to be completed within three hours — but Wu, who has worked at the airport for more than a decade, took it in stride and quickly delegated tasks to his colleagues.
Together, they cleaned and disinfected the premises, set up cordons as well as zones for checking people’s temperatures and filling out forms. It wasn’t until the first passenger stepped into the waiting area that Wu finally took a break from his work.
Born in southwestern China’s Chongqing, the 46-year-old began working at Pudong International Airport in 2007 and is currently an official leading more than 300 staff members of the Shanghai airport authority’s security check and protection department.
“My duties include ID checks, physical inspections and luggage examinations for passengers who travel domestically from Terminal 1 of the airport,” says Wu.
As the nation’s busiest airport for overseas travelers, Shanghai Pudong International Airport is currently battling the COVID-19 epidemic with closed-loop management. During this critical period, Wu and his colleagues have been assigned to a special task force in charge of separating overseas travelers into various categories, sending passengers to quarantine spots and safeguarding passengers during transfers.
“This job requires utmost care, responsibility and extremely hard work. Our teammates have sweat all over their bodies as they have to wear N95 facemasks, goggles and protective suits throughout a shift. Each of us walks at least 30,000 steps every day. Sometimes we even hit 60,000 steps,” he says.
Wu’s work as the group leader is nonstop. Breakfast is sometimes the only meal he has in a day.
Wu says he tries his best to optimize the procedures to reduce waiting time for passengers in the transit area. He has also arranged for various amenities, such as hand gels, power banks, sewing kits, band-aids as well as hot water and biscuits to be made available for passengers around the clock.
As part of heightened efforts to contain the outbreak, Shanghai has since March 28 required all passengers from places outside the Chinese mainland to undergo a 14-day quarantine at designated locations in the city.
Wu believes the battle against the epidemic is far from over.
“As more businesses begin operations, air traffic will become busy again, and this means our work will become more intense,” he says.