Stranded tourists help with COVID-19 control

SANYA－Donning a hazmat suit, Lai Yuming began his volunteer work to help with nucleic acid testing at a hotel in Sanya, a coastal resort city in South China's Hainan province.

Lai, a physician at Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Central China's Hunan province, came to Sanya for a trip with his colleagues.

But their travel plans were disrupted by the sudden resurgence of COVID-19 on the island, and they were stranded with more than 3,000 other tourists at the airport as their return flights were canceled.

Local authorities later made arrangements with 11 hotels for their temporary stay. But, instead of staying at the hotel and waiting, Lai and his colleagues decided to volunteer to aid the local effort to bring the outbreak under control.

"The local government and hotel staff have done a lot for us, and we hope to do as much as possible to help Sanya," Lai says.

Lai's colleague, Liu Meifang, also joined the volunteer work. "We're grateful for the arrangements made by the Sanya government," Liu says.

From Aug 1-9, over 2,400 COVID-19 infections were reported in Hainan, of which about 1,900 cases were detected in Sanya.

More than 8,500 people from 18 provincial regions across China have been drafted in to help Hainan deal with this latest resurgence of COVID-19. Liu says that even if she had not been on vacation in Sanya, she would have still come to the city to actively support Hainan's pandemic prevention work during this critical time.

When cluster infections began to emerge, about 80,000 tourists were stranded in Sanya, a key tourist destination in Hainan, and many of them have voluntarily decided to assist in the local effort to contain the outbreak.

In a warehouse in Sanya's Tianya district, Chen Yi, from East China's Zhejiang province, is busy moving medical supplies with other volunteers. Chen, who runs a trade company in Wenzhou city, fell in love with Sanya after visiting the city for the first time in 2008. Sanya has since become his favorite vacation destination and he visits the city multiple times every year.

"I love Sanya so much that I want to do my small part to help the city recover as soon as possible," Chen says.

Thanks to the concerted efforts and swift response, the first batch of 125 stranded tourists embarked on their journey home Tuesday afternoon, and arrangements will soon be made for the remaining tourists.

Xinhua