Shanghai Hotline Makes Sure Foreigners Aren't Left in Dark About Coronavirus
Pan Yinru
DATE:  Feb 15 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Shanghai Hotline Makes Sure Foreigners Aren't Left in Dark About Coronavirus Shanghai Hotline Makes Sure Foreigners Aren't Left in Dark About Coronavirus

(Yicai Global) Feb. 14 -- Shanghai's toll-free, multi-language call center continues to be of service to the city's foreign community during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Expatriates remaining in the city with any questions about the virus or other matters can dial 962288. A team of trained telephonists are ready to serve.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, there have been a number of calls relating to changes in flights, Le Di, director of the Shanghai Call Center, told Yicai Global. Foreigners do not have wide social networks to draw on and so their information can be quite limited. If their flight is cancelled, they don't know what to do next.

Most questions are about masks, said Wanyan Shaohua, the chief service representative who has been working at the hotline for nine years.

The call center's staff also offer advice on neighborhood committees responsible for mask distribution and other epidemic control services. The staff can verify which neighborhood committee is in charge of any residential area, Wanyan added.

The Shanghai hotline was set up in 2006 as one of China's first multi-language services for foreign nationals. It is the go-to number for queries relating to general information about the city such as schools for children and foreign currency exchange. It can also help with urgent translation needs.

The center provides services in 12 languages -- English, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Malaysian, Indonesian, Portuguese, Arabic, Italian and South Slavic.

English-language services are available for 24 hours a day. Japanese, Korean and French services run from 8.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., while the rest can be accessed from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m.

Editor: Kim Taylor

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Keywords:   The Shanghai Call Center,Foreign Residents,Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia