Sports-meet like protocol makes for safe, fun, and fast 'grid screening'

In a short video that has gone viral, residents are shown marching in an orderly manner, led by two volunteers in protective outfits holding a numbered placard up high.

The scene might have come from an opening ceremony of a sports meet, particularly when it was set to the militant Sportsman March, with a narrator keeping up a running commentary on the merits of the team -- except that the team consists of people of every description, of all ages, and clad in all colors and styles, with the only defining feature being the ubiquity of their face masks.

These are residents heading to another round of nucleic acid testing.

In spite of all the difficulties, the city's community workers and volunteers never run out of new ideas to ensure that nucleic acid tests are conducted in an orderly, safe and efficient manner.

To contain the pandemic in the wake of the recent resurgence, the city has decided to proceed with a "grid screening" zone by zone, as part of the effort to ensure that that there would be no omissions in the general screening.

When this specific testing was conducted recently in Aibo No. 1 Village in Minhang District, residents were told to line up behind a numbered placard indicating the number of their homes. Two residents, surnamed Dong and Zhang, were somewhat struck by the novelty of the protocol, the raised placards and all. They recorded the scene and made it into a sports-meet-like nucleic acid testing scene.

The clip had got rave views, garnering more than 200,000 clicks, with a lot of viewers effusive about their appreciation.

Someone commented that such orderly queue "ensures speedy testing," and "minimizes the risk of cross infection in a crowd."

Sun Lei, deputy chief of Xinhong Subdistrict in Minhang District, found the video and messages both moving and amusing. Sun was in charge of the quarantine of the neighborhood.

"Through this unique perspective crafted by the two young people, I am under the impression that residents in our Aibo No. 1 Village are assessing our job in an upbeat and uplifting mindset, thus instilling new confidence and impetus in us," Sun said.

The village is a sizable community housing about 8,000 residents. On March 10, when lockdown was first instituted there and the first round of nucleic testing conducted, lack of proper protocol made it time consuming. The first round of testing lasted 11 hours, drawing complaints from some residents. After emergency consultations it was decided that subsequent testing would be conducted in a more orderly manner, according to specific numbers of the buildings.

As a result, placards were made and, sure enough, the time needed was curtailed to eight hours in the second testing, and further down to six hours. The fourth testing took only five hours and 20 minutes.

Sun also attributed the greater efficiency to the greater involvement of many resident volunteers, such as those placard-holding team leaders.

Lockdown of the community has already been lifted, and residents can leave and enter the neighborhood freely so long if they can show a special pass.

Xinhua

This sports-meet like ritual has also been practised in communities of even greater scale, such as in Kangcheng, also in Minhang District. With 286 buildings and a population of 40,000, Kangcheng is one of the largest residential communities in Shanghai.

With the city engaged in what is the first general nucleic acid testing since the breakout of the pandemic more than two years ago, this megacity is tackling a lot of challenges. But being a legendary fast learner, the city can always be counted on to live up to its reputation for delicate urban management.

In addition to volunteers, the city's medical professionals have also been working overtime to contain the current outbreak, with many medical staff suffering sleep deprivations in their stuffy white outfits otherwise known affectionately as dabai.

It is heartening to know, in spite of all the hardships, the medical staff and volunteers alike have managed to keep up a bold front, exuding optimism and good humor.