THE community healthcare center in Xinjing Town of Changning District is only 15 minutes’ drive from Hongqiao airport, which has imposed strict screening measures for all incoming passengers.

Lu Min, director of the disease control department at the center, and her colleagues regularly take passengers from Hubei Province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, to a designated hotel for a 14-day observation.

They also provide care and do daily temperature checks for others quarantined there.

Lu voluntarily took over the risky task after Shanghai announced its highest-level response mechanism for major public health emergencies on January 24. She stayed in the hotel to handle emergencies.

A young woman seemed anxious when Lu and other staff checked her temperature. Lu called her afterward and helped to ease her concerns.

“Some people feel chest pain and shortness of breath due to emotional stress, so psychological counseling is quite important,” Lu said.

About 100 people are under observation at the designated hotel. The center takes charge of coronavirus prevention at 33 neighborhood committees in the town and has screened over 300 households. Among them, 150 people, who have no symptoms but had traveled to Hubei or were in contact with people from there within 14 days, are isolated at home.

Cai Minqiang, leader of the general practitioner workshop of the center, has been screening each household since the beginning of the Spring Festival holiday with other staff.

The 55-year-old took part in the prevention of the SARS outbreak in 2003. He applied to join the current coronavirus prevention campaign.

Apart from regular temperature checks, Cai also takes charge of garbage collection from quarantined households. “All garbage is handled the same as medical waste.”