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.

Zheng Lijuan, Party secretary of the Xiziwan residential community in Songjiang District, checks the temperature of a resident.

Zheng Lijuan, Party secretary of the Xiziwan residential community in Songjiang District, has not taken a single day off in nearly three weeks due to the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak.

The Xiziwan community has 3,359 households, with 80 percent from out of Shanghai.

"It poses big challenges for the prevention and control of the epidemic," Zheng told Shanghai Daily.

But there is always a solution to every problem, saidZheng. A complete and strict prevention network was established quickly and solutions based on the community's features were worked out.

Household-to-household screening is being conducted in Xiziwan and the community uses different colors to mark the status of residents. Red signifies people from key infectionareas, yellow refers to people from other places outside Shanghai, and white means safe, or those who did not recently leave Shanghai and have no symptoms of infection, said Zheng.

Three rounds of screening by visit or telephone have been conducted in Xiziwan, and the information reported by residents is being carefully scrutinized. WeChat contact has also been established between neighborhood committee officials and each household.

Among them, two residents were sent to hospital after developing fever.Zheng visited the fever department of a designated hospital to accompany one discharged resident back home.

"Despite the danger, it is my duty to be on the frontline as Party secretary of Xiziwan," saidZheng.

Zheng Lijuanaccompanies a resident back home from hospital. The resident developed fever but was discharged once suspicion of infection was eliminated.

She also participates in visitor registration and temperature checks to eliminate people's concerns and fears.

The community had 131 residents from 40 households under quarantine at one point.

"A kit with seven items such as an exclusive garbage bags, disinfectants, a thermometer and a reminder is sent to residents who undergo a 14-day quarantine at home, and services like vegetable supply, express delivery and medicine taking are provided by officials," said Zheng.

The disinfection of areas with people under quarantine is being stepped up, and their garbage is collected by specialist cleaners.

Those who leave quarantine will be admonished by police.

Because the majority of residents in the community are youngsters, an online health report system has been established.

As the city launched a mask registration plan earlier this month to prevent long queues forming outside of pharmacies, online registration has been introduced at the community as well.

Each household is allowed to make one registration and buy five masks at designated pharmacies on a first-come, first-served basis.

Eighty percent of the community's quota was allocated for online registration. The registration of nearly 2,000 people in the community for mask purchases took only one day, significantly improving efficiency.

Officials delivered facial masks to those in quarantine and also to seniors.

Zheng Lijuan, Party secretary of the Xiziwan residential community, delivers vegetables to a household in quarantine.

The community has also closed several entrances for vehicles and visitors since January 31, and requires all residents to show the pass distributed by the neighborhood committee upon their arrival.

Green channels for express and take-away food delivery workers have been set up to prevent residents from gathering at the gates.

Delivery workers are required to show their ID cards, have their temperatures checked and wear masks before they can deliver parcels.

The neighborhood committee keeps residents informed of the community's latest efforts in the battle against the epidemic.

"Making information public and transparent will eliminate residents' concerns and worries," said Zheng.

Zheng works 12 hours a day, and is on 24-hour call after she returns home. "But it's worthwhile because the residents make me warm," she said.

A total of 107 residents at the community established a special WeChat group to support neighborhood committee officials, security guards and volunteers.

"They send chocolate and warm beverages to us, and they fully understand our work," said Zheng.

Xiziwan is a mirror tocomprehensive coronavirus prevention network in Songjiang, which is an important gateway into Shanghai.

The district has 17 road entrances to Shanghai. Meanwhile, about 1.2 million residents among 1.99 million in the district are out-of-towners, posing challenges for the virus prevention.

About 100 people from health, police, traffic and subdistrict authorities started 24-hour inspections at these road entrances as early as January 23, and 136 people from key infection areas were sent to the district's quarantine spot for medical observation in a single day.

More than 140,000 vehicles to these road entrances have been checked, and the temperatures of more than 370,000 drivers and passengers were measured. Over 60 people were sent to feverdepartments.

Zheng Lijuan, Party secretary of the Xiziwan residential community in Songjiang District, checks the temperature of a delivery worker.