Teachers join city's efforts in face mask donation
Editor's note:
With more than 20 million residents, Shanghai is finding that prevention of the new coronavirus is complicated and strenuous. Governments at all levels, volunteers and ordinary citizens in about 13,000 communities have joined in the effort. Shanghai Daily reporters visited several communities to see how people are coping in the battle to control the virus at the grassroots.
A passenger helps Li Xiangliang (unseen), a teacher at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, transport two large boxes of face masks to Shanghai.
As China is now in short supply of materials to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak, many Chinese are looking overseas to fill the gaps. These include Li Xiangliang, a teacher at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance.
Li is in Los Angeles for winter vacation. After he learned about the shortages, he contacted several friends. They rushed to supermarkets and pharmacies in the US city and spent about 100,000 yuan (US$14,278) to buy some 10,000 masks.
“There is a limited quota for each purchase at supermarkets and the price is almost six times higher than usual,” he said. “But the price online is much higher, so we drove to supermarkets and bought as many as possible.”
Li had planned to deliver the masks to China via courier service, but this would take at least 10 days.
He then turned to Chinese travelers for help. He made three 4-hour round trips to the airport in Los Angeles and found warm-hearted passengers to carry the masks back to China.
All the masks have arrived in Shanghai and will be delivered to Wuhan, the epicenter of the current virus outbreak.
Li said he's contacted an American company and reserved another 120,000 masks, which will be delivered 12 days later.
“Although I’m in America, I’m up-to-speed on the epidemic situation and wish to do my part,” he said.
Li Xiangliang, a teacher at Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance, bought about 10,000 masks for donation to Wuhan, epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
Another two Lixin teachers, Wu Xiangyang and her husband Long Yingfeng, helped deliver donated masks to hospitals in Shanghai.
One of their neighbors posted in a WeChat group for help distributing thousands of donated surgical masks. As this neighbor was confined at home for observation, he could not do it himself. Wu was the first to respond.
“Nowadays people are cautious and avoid visiting hospitals, but the doctors are fighting on the frontline without fear,” she said. “They deserve our respect and support.”
The couple put on masks and drove for an hour to a Ruijin Hospital branch in Jiading District and delivered the first 500 masks there. Then, they drove to Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital, Renji Hospital, Changzheng Hospital and Eye and ENT Hospital.
For safety concerns, they avoided direct contact with medical staff. They would leave the boxes outside and signal to medical staff who came and picked them up.
