Andrea Alfieriand police officerShi Haoyang with masks the Italian donated to theJiangpu Road police station inYangpu District.

A police station onJiangpuRoad in YangpuDistrict recently received 300 face masks donated by an Italian to support their work in fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

“We’re really touched by our foreign friend,” saidShiHaoyang, a police officer at the station. “We do need masks now as part of our main tasks currently is to dohouse-to-houseinspections, check the temperature of quarantined residents and disinfect key areas together with community officers. We all need to wear masks throughout the process.”

AndreaAlfieri, the donor, works in a gymnastics club in Shanghai and is a friend ofShi’s.

He was in Italy during the Spring Festival and was hearing from friends in Shanghai, includingShi, about the shortage of face mask. As masks in many stores were sold out in Italy, he contacted a wholesale corporation and bought around 1,500.

After his direct flight to Shanghai was canceled due to the outbreak, he took another flight that detoured via Moscow.

“My parents did not want me to come back, but I told them I wanted to go home, I wanted to go back to Shanghai,” he said.

Alfierihas been in Shanghai for almost eight years, first as a martial arts student at the Shanghai University of Sport and then a coach in a gymnastics club.

He gave 300 masks to the police and others to his friends and colleagues for free.

“I saw the news that some people were selling masks at a high price and some were even selling fake masks,” he said. “I think those people were disgusting. Chinese people need help at this moment. It’s not a time for business.”

Alfierisaid life is a little bit different from previously as the community where he lives has enhanced management for epidemic control, such as setting up checkpoints at entrances, measuring the temperature of everyone coming in and asking those returning to Shanghai from key affected areas to stay at home for observation.

“But I think these measures are necessary in this special situation,” he said.

Alfieristays at home most of the time now that he's back in Shanghai. Being bored, he found that even short outdoor activities such as picking up parcels or dumping garbage can make him happy, just as Chinese people stuck at home feel.

His family is still a little bit worried about him.

“But I always tell them it’s safe in Shanghai and the Chinese and Shanghai governments can solve the problem soon,” he said.

Andrea Alfieri was a martial arts student in Shanghai before working in a gymnastics club.