The strong bond between Macao and Hengqin people is vividly illustrated by volunteers who are assisting at community health center, providing information, and verifying health codes in a joint response to the nearby COVID-19 outbreak.

Twenty-six social workers at the Hengqin Comprehensive Service Center of the Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Macao, including six from Macao, are helping local clinics during mass nucleic acid testing. Meanwhile, on Jan 18 at the nucleic acid sampling site in Fengqing Square, Hongqi Village, social worker volunteers from the Neighborhood Associations wore protective equipment to guide the public to display and scan their codes, maintain order, and carefully record nucleic acid detection in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin.

Volunteers assist in health code verification and body temperature measurement

Likewise, on Jan 16 the Guangdong Liaison Office of the Macau Women's Federation urgently recruited eight social workers from the Hengqin-Macao Parent-Child Activity Center to assist residents at the nucleic acid sampling site in Xiacun Village. They logged in health codes, answered questions, and also maintained order. On Jan 17, the Liaison Office dispatched 10 staff and volunteers to assist in on-site work at the sampling site.

The Guangdong Liaison Office of the Women's Federation of Macau settled in the cooperation zone only last month. Since then, it has been providing locals with rich, diversified, and high-quality social services with Hengqin and Macao cultural characteristics.

Established by the General Union of Neighborhood Associations of Macao in November 2019, the Hengqin Comprehensive Service Center in the Xiaohengqin Community offers Macao people livelihood facilities and public services with which they are accustomed.

“Macao and Hengqin are one family,” said Dong Wenwei, a Macao citizen and assistant director of the service center as he patiently guided residents for a smooth sampling at Fengqing Square of Hongqi Village. “We will devote all our efforts to epidemic prevention and control, and hope to fight against the epidemic together via exchanges of experience and complementary advantages between Zhuhai and Macao,” Dong said.

To curb spreading of the virus, Zhuhai implemented a citywide three-day compulsory mass nucleic acid testing campaign from Jan 16 to 18. Zhuhai also has enforced strict pandemic control measures after the discovery of several new cases, requiring that negative test certificates be taken within 24 hours before leaving the city.