Volunteer delivers much-needed lockdown medicine

Zhang Qianjun, a volunteer who during the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in Guangzhou has zipped around the city to fetch and deliver medicine for people in need, feels exhausted when he gets home in the evening, but the appreciation of those he delivers to keeps his spirits high.

Zhang delivers medicine in the Datang area of Haizhu district, a controlled area of Guangzhou.

He rides his scooter between hospitals, clinics and people's homes from 8 am every morning till late at night.

The people he delivers to have a range of conditions, from high blood pressure and diabetes to more chronic diseases, so they need their medications delivered regularly and in a timely manner.

In such a time of need, he has even gone above and beyond just delivery, helping a woman with breast cancer register online to secure her prescription before picking it up and delivering it the following day.

Hu Dingqie, another volunteer, worked one day for 12 hours straight, adding that apart from eating, he didn't stop.

"Sometimes, volunteers have to shout via loudspeaker to get a clear delivery address in urban villages," he said.

These charitable individuals are a necessary support team for residents while they are required to stay home to curb the spread of infections.

According to Li Yuhong, vice-president of Haizhu Maternal and Child Care Hospital, her hospital has established a special task force consisting of 30 medical workers and volunteers that has provided medical services to patients 16,571 times in controlled zones since Oct 23.

In addition to delivering medicine, medical staff and volunteers have also helped transfer patients 201 times, provided renal dialysis services 69 times, and managed and provided prenatal examination services to 149 pregnant women.

Seventeen women have successfully delivered children in Li's hospital during this difficult period, she said.

According to Li, her hospital has prepared more than 130 kinds of medicine, mainly for respiratory and digestive diseases, as well as some chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes.

"Sometimes, doctors have to prescribe medicine for more than 300 patients a day during the busiest days," she said.

A resident surnamed Deng said she is very grateful to Li.

The 35-year-old white-collar worker said after her mother had an online consultation with a doctor from Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, the medicine was delivered to her home in about 30 minutes.

Deng's mother, who has cancer and heart disease, has to take medicine on time to help control her disease, she said.

Wu Huaju, who has depression, also thanked Li and her volunteers.

She needs a variety of psychiatric medicines for treatment, and some of them need to be taken three times a day.

"The problem of medicine delivery was solved quickly after I contacted Li," she added.

Relevant departments are still working around the clock to curb the spread of the coronavirus and minimize the risk of COVID-19 in the southern metropolis, although the growth in new local COVID-19 infections slowed slightly over the weekend.

Baiyun district has suspended all bus and metro services while the districts of Tianhe, Huangpu and Zengcheng have suspended dine-in service at all restaurants, starting on Monday.

Guangzhou reported a total of 8,181 local COVID-19 infections, including 296 patients with mild symptoms and 7,885 asymptomatic carriers on Sunday. Of them, 7,988 infections were detected in Haizhu district, the epicenter of the latest round of COVID-19 outbreak.

Lian Keyin contributed to this story.