Zhang Yingxi, Zhang Yu

996240804@qq.com

WEARING a volunteer’s red jacket and holding a nucleic acid testing flowchart in his hands, Duiu Onofrei stood out among the crowd at a nucleic acid sampling site in Zhaoshang Subdistrict’s Shuiwan Community in Nanshan District yesterday.

Onofrei, a Romanian martial arts instructor, is one of the expat volunteers working alongside his local counterparts to combat COVID-19.

Onofrei said the expat volunteers assist in translating COVID-related circulars and inform other foreign residents about the importance of taking nucleic acid tests. They play an active role in helping foreign residents overcome language barriers, ensuring that anti-epidemic measures are implemented efficiently in the community.

Onofrei has been a volunteer in Shenzhen for the past two years. Volunteerism, he believes, is a “civic spirit” unique to China. “It’s difficult to express how volunteering gives me a sense of fulfillment. Small things can grow into something big,” he remarked.

Onofrei was impressed by “Shenzhen speed” when discussing the local government’s efforts to combat the epidemic. When new confirmed COVID cases amid the latest COVID resurgence were announced, he felt proud to tell his buddies that the city tested 22 million people in two days. “This is wonderful,” he said.

The nucleic acid sampling site in Shuiwan Community had completed its first round of large-scale testing as of yesterday morning, with more than 18,000 people tested.

“There are many volunteers just like me,” Onofrei told Shenzhen Daily. “Look at how many volunteers are coming, and they are coming with pleasure. This is what it means to volunteer.”