As of March 25th, Guangzhou’s multilingual hotline ‘960169’ had answered 1389 calls, with a high satisfaction rate of 99.58%. The platform saw a steep rise in inquiries during the epidemic and it has now become a major channel for expats and international arrivals to consult related departments about the latest policies.

According to the Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office (FAO), the most frequently asked questions during the height of the epidemic were about new epidemic policies (484 calls, accounting for 72.78% of the inquiries), community service (79 calls, 11.88%), hotel arrangements (48 calls, 7.2%), ‘Suikang’ code registration (14 calls. 2.11%), police station and visa extension (10 calls each, 1.5%).

In addition, the platform works closely with government departments such as Guangzhou Health Commission, China Immigration, Public Security Bureau and FAO, and provides frontline workers with 24-hour translation services.

The hotline works in conjunction with community workers, police and medical staff, forming a ‘three-person team’ to conduct health investigation of foreigners and precisely deliver epidemic control requirements. The platform shared the following case:

On March 3rd, a team of community staff of Panyu District visited a Korean surnamed Kim who had returned Directly to his home from Baiyun Airport instead of undergoing mandatory quarantine in a hotel. The team turned to the ‘960169’ hotline which helped translate the conversation through a phone call. Thanks to the translation service, the team found out that Kim returned to the community because his flight was canceled. He had not returned from South Korea.

Established by Guangzhou FAO in 2019, the 960169 hotline provides 24-hour English translation service and 12-hour (9:00-21:00) Japanese and Korean translation service. Its interpretation team consists of 8 English translators, 4 Japanese translators and 4 Korean translators.

 

Author| Jasmine, Zoey (intern)

Editor| Olivia, Simon