(Yicai Global) April 25 -- As Shanghai grapples with Covid-19, scores of residents, including dentists, white-collar workers, and other volunteers, have been working hard to keep their communities safe. Dressed head to foot in white hazmat suits and personal protective equipment, they have been nicknamed ‘Baymax,’ after the big inflatable white robot in Disney’s animation flick Big Hero 6.

Hazmat-suited Baymax volunteers unload daily supplies donated by Yunnan province.

Huang Zhengwei, a dentist, went to work in a makeshift hospital in mid-March. One of his shifts involves making rounds to monitor patients and speak with them, easing their concerns. Medications are handed out and referrals are made during the other shift. If patients ask questions beyond the staff’s medical knowledge, they often get together after work to bone up.

Huang said it was only after working at the temporary hospital that he realized how fiercely contagious the coronavirus was, and he felt a great deal of pressure in the face of new patients being admitted every day.

An engineering surveyor has also donned protective garb to help with his residential compound’s pandemic prevention efforts. An Mingxing said his duties involve keeping watch on buildings that have confirmed Covid-19 cases and making sure residents stay at home. An also helps residents fetch food, groceries and other parcels dropped off at to the entrance to the compound.

An Mingxing meets other Baymax volunteers during lockdown.

An said there were times when some young people tried to break into the building, but most of the residents appreciate the work of the Baymax volunteers. On rainy days, some residents bring them hot water bottles and snacks, which keeps them warm. The first thing An wants to do after the outbreak comes under control is eat a bowl of noodles.

Feng Jian, an Yicai employee and experienced organizer of public welfare activities, assembled a team of more than 300 volunteers in just three days. They are working with their neighborhood committee to deal with companies, deliver supplies, gather data and carry out Covid tests. The team focuses on special groups such as the elderly and children.

Community volunteers deliver milk to the elderly.

In a suburban Shanghai village with a large elderly population and low smartphone penetration, two village officials with IT skills developed a system that reads villagers’ forms, automatically fills in details and generates QR codes based on open-source software, improving the efficiency of nucleic acid testing. “The help from young people is really important,” said one of the young village officials.

A young village official assists with Covid-19 tests.

Editor: Peter Thomas