Guixi residents celebrate after lockdown ends

Chen Huizhi / SHINE

Most of the residents from out of town in the Guixi residential complex will stay in Shanghai for Spring Festival after a lockdown due to a COVID-19 case ended on February 7.

Five residents who served as volunteers during the 14-day lockdown were invited to a reunion lunch with police officers serving the complex and community officials on Wednesday, the day before Chinese New Year’s Eve.

Xiang Chenyu, a community police officer serving the residential complex, poured juice for the guests and expressed his thanks.

During the lockdown, the police received a lot of support from the government, social partners and residents, and the volunteers were the lubricant of services for residents, especially in parcel delivery and garbage sorting, he said.

“The residential complex was unlocked before Spring Festival thanks to the efforts of each resident,” he said.

Liu Yitong, a native of Hunan Province who has been a tenant at the Huangpu District complex since September last year, was one of the residents invited to the lunch.

Liu, who works in the financial industry, returned to China from the US in March last year. He said he didn’t have a second thought when called on to serve his fellow residents as a volunteer.

He helped deliver parcels and ordered food for residents and broadcast calls for them to go for nucleic acid tests.

“I felt excited to serve other people wearing the white protection suit, like others did for me when I was in isolation after returning to the country,” he said.

There were about 1,400 people in the residential complex during the lockdown.

Police officers and community officials also visited some elderly residents who live alone and took them gifts for the Spring Festival.

Ti Gong

Ti Gong