Volunteers from the IEEPA pose for a group photo before starting work in a community in Dongtiejiangying Street in Fengtai District, Beijing on March 5 (COURTESY PHOTO)

China has taken stringent measures in time to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). And the fight against the epidemic is now at the most critical stage. People from all walks of life have been mobilized to do their bit in the prevention and control work around the country.

Social organizations have been participating in the fight against the virus in various ways. The International Ecological Economy Promotion Association (IEEPA), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Beijing, has fully used its strengths and encouraged member units to make donations so as to support the medical workers at the frontline.

Their donations were handed over to the Beijing Branch and Wuhan Branch of the Red Cross Society of China, and were used to purchase urgently needed medical supplies. A total of 800,000 yuan ($114,987) was raised to purchase supplies such as disinfection equipment, face masks and protective gloves. The materials were mainly delivered to Wuhan and Yidu in Hubei, the worst-hit province in central China.

Currently, as more enterprises have resumed work and production, the number of people returning to Beijing is increasing. At the same time, several cities including the capital have seen imported cases of COVID-19 from other countries. Preventing the further spread of the virus through importation has become an urgent task.

Staff from the IEEPA have volunteered to help communities better fulfill their prevention and control work. Some masks and protective gloves were also distributed to those community workers who work around the clock in Beijing.

A volunteer on duty in a community in Fengtai District, Beijing on March 5 (COURTESY PHOTO)

On March 5, volunteers led by Li Junyang, deputy head of the IEEPA, arrived at a community in Dongtiejiangying Street in Fengtai District to assist the community workers, including registration of residents and monitoring of body temperatures. They have also helped deliver packages to residents in need and order food and water for the hard-working community workers.

According to Li, anyone who works and lives in Beijing should be treated equally as the residents of the city. Community workers, through their daily work, should try to help residents solve their problems without hurting the feelings of the non-locals who have already become part of the city, Li said.

As the virus has now spread to many countries, a global response is needed. Unfortunately, due to irrational fears over the epidemic, some people of Asian origin have become victims of insults or even attacks in many countries. Against this backdrop, the IEEPA also initiated and participated in a performance art titled "I Am Not a Virus, I Am a Human", aiming to eradicate prejudices among people.

Some Chinese volunteers wearing face masks walked with placards reading "I Am Not a Virus, I Am a Human" in public places in countries such as Ukraine. They were greeted with enthusiastic hugs of passers-by, a heart-warming scene that can give Chinese people who live and work in foreign countries more comfort, and encourage all the Chinese people to win the war against the virus along with the international community.

Copyedited by Madhusudan Chaubey

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