Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office (Guangzhou FAO) invited staff from foreign consulates to visit the community foreigner service center and two local companies dedicated to the fight against COVID-19 on May 5th, aiming to enhance transparency around the epidemic control measures in the city.

Liu Baochun, Director of Guangzhou FAO, and 41 officers from 34 consulates in Guangzhou participated in the tour.

Community involves foreign volunteers to improve communication

The delegation visited the foreigner service center in Dengfeng community, a community located in Yuexiu District and home to a large number of African traders and students.

Jeremie Mubua(M) introduces his volunteer work in Dengfeng community.[PhotoNewsgd.com]

Jeremie Mubua, a student from Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been a volunteer at the center for five years. “I can speak Chinese, English and French so I went door to door in the community and helped explain the testing and quarantine strategies during the epidemic. I told them that these measures are not only to protect themselves, but their family and the whole community, most people immediately understood.”

Loh Tuck Keat, Singapore Consul General in Guangzhou (L), meets a volunteer who grew up in Singapore.[PhotoNewsgd.com]

As well as recruiting volunteers from different countries, Dengfeng communities set up a special team to offer foreign residents services such as information sharing, temperature checks, emergency response and food delivery. They also lunched a 24-hour hotline for expats so that they could meet their needs as swiftly as possible.

Made-in-Guangzhou testing kits devoted to global fight against virus

[PhotoNewsgd.com]

The delegation went to Huangpu District and visited DAAN GENE Co., Ltd of Sun Yat-Sen University, a bio-med company which produces nucleic acid test kits, extraction and detection instruments.

According to the company, the diagnostic accuracy of their NAT solution exceeds 95 percent, and their products are being used across 29 Chinese provinces and 134 countries overseas. They have worked with the Alibaba foundation to donate testing kits to countries in need.

[PhotoNewsgd.com]

Diyar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan in Guangzhou, said testing is an important part of epidemic control and countries need to test as many people as possible. “China and Pakistan maintain a very good relationship. China donated a great number of testing kits and masks to us after the virus reached Pakistan. Testing kits are still needed in the government and the private sector. So it’s great that we can visit this company during the tour.”

China’s No.1 condom maker jumps into produce masks

Located in Huadu District, Guangzhou Double One Latex Product Co., Ltd established in 1955 and is the first company to produce condoms in China.

The company transformed one of its workshop to produce masks in February when the country was experiencing a shortage. The company now has four mask production lines, one of which is a high-speed line and is capable of producing 1000 masks per minute.

A staff member from Double One said the company can now produce between 800 thousand and 1 million masks per day, and currently serves the domestic market only. “We have donated batches to medical institutes in Guangdong and other provinces across China. We are also applying for the related certification so that we can export masks in the future.”

Author: Jasmine

Editor: Keane, Simon