As soon as the new lunar year began, community workers serving foreign residents in Pudong New Area flung themselves once more into COVID-19 prevention and control work. They have helped to keep shequ (neighborhood communities) and foreign residents in close touch, informed foreigners of health management requirements, assisted in information collection and submission, solved problems faced by those who have to stay home, and facilitated quarantine arrangements. Working in the front line, they are a fine representation of the friendliness and quick response of the metropolis’ COVID-19 prevention and control.

Pudong New Area Lianyang Community Service Station For Overseas People & Immigrants' Integration Service Station

A large number of foreign residents live in many complexes in Huamu street. To ensure that everyone was timely informed of the latest pandemic prevention and control regulations and cooperated, community workers of Huamu Street broadcasted the policies in Chinese and English in the complexes overnight, fighting in the front line to guarantee the safety of thousands of residents.

Among them, community workers Ding Yizhou and Chen Sijia, during their home quarantine period, brought into full play their bilingual skills, winning the hearts of foreign residents in the community's joint efforts in fighting the pandemic.

Pudong New Area Tangqiao Community Service Station For Overseas People

According to a March-12 notification, there were COVID-19 close contacts in Building 3, Dongnan Huating Community, Lane 150, North Linyi Road, and control measures were to be taken on the entire building. As the building is home to quite a few of Japanese residents, Wang Danlin, a community worker, immediately created a WeChat group to inform the foreign residents of a nucleic acid test to be taken in the afternoon. Meanwhile, she instructed them on how to make an appointment for the test on the Health Cloud and to prepare the QR code. On site, she served as an interpreter, helped maintain order, and facilitated information registration. With her help, testing for 460 residents (including 50 Japanese residents) was done within two and a half hours.

Pudong New Area Lujiazui Community Service Station For Overseas People

Franie, a foreign resident in the Street, was suddenly notified to be quarantined in the office building. He was required to provide a QR code for the nucleic acid test appointment. When he was still perplexed by the whole situation, Zhang Xiaohua, a community worker, contacted and explained things to him. Successfully, Franie received the test and got his nucleic acid report.

Pudong New Area Jinqiao Community Service Station For Overseas People&Immigrants' Integration Service Station

On March 7 and 10, as there were close contacts in three buildings in the Biyun community, “2+12” prevention and control measures were adopted. Notified of the close-off arrangements, the community workers of Jinqiao Town arrived at the site as soon as possible, where Wang Ying, one of the workers, found a foreign woman who entered the building by mistake and became emotional when she heard the news of a closed-off. Wang Ying explained to her the situation and reassured her, and finally the lady agreed to cooperate under the two-day closed-off management.

Pudong New Area Weifang Community Service Station For Overseas People &Immigrants' Integration Service Station

The pressing situation of COVID-19 demands forceful response. One weekend, Chen Wei and Wang Nan, two Weifang Street community workers, were tasked to serve for the Shimao Binjiang Community. They then worked for ten days on end, switching between Chinese, English and Japanese. They filed data, maintained order, informed residents of prevention and control regulations, and guided foreign residents in registering for nucleic acid tests online.

Impressed by their devotion, many foreign residents volunteered to join community services. One of the residents, Ludwig Mercedes, a German teenager, made a short video in fluent Chinese, cheering for the people fighting COVID-19 in Shanghai.

Pudong New Area currently has 23 foreigner service stations and 7 immigrants’ integration service stations. In 11 streets (subdistricts) and towns with dense foreigner population, including Lujiazui, Zhangjiang, Huamu, Jinqiao, Qiantan, and Lingang, Pudong has established China’s first teams of full-time foreign-related community workers, who provide foreigners with services such as registration for temporary accommodation, foreign-related legal education and communication, and foreign-related community activities. During the pandemic, they also assist the residential communities in performing COVID-19 prevention and control work.

In their next-step work plans, foreigner service stations and immigrants’ integration stations in Pudong New Area will introduce a comprehensive system of professional community work, so as to build a more diversified and open service platform for foreigners.