DM Monitoring
URUMQI: With just the press of a button, Zhu Qiaoling, an 82-year-old resident in Urumqi, capital of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, can get all her daily necessities delivered without ever leaving the comfort of her home.
With a customized calling device, 16 elderly residents who live alone at the Hami West Road community in the city are taken good care of by local community workers and volunteers.
“The device offers a variety of functions such as contacting community workers to arrange deliveries and calling the police. They only need to press a button,” said Zhang Chunhua, a volunteer. Zhang also helps the elderly dispose of their household garbage and delivers daily necessities regularly.
By Saturday, Xinjiang had 625 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 123 asymptomatic cases, the majority in Urumqi, and 18,882 people were still under medical observation. The epidemic has forced roughly 4 million residents in the city to reduce their outdoor activities and has greatly disrupted everyday life, with the elderly suffering more than most.
“I’m in poor health and my son and daughter aren’t around,” said Zhu. “I’m old and can’t use a smartphone. If anything were to happen to me, I have no way of contacting them.” A total of 165 volunteers, together with community workers, are responsible for delivering daily necessities and performing other jobs to meet the basic needs of the residents in the community. “During the epidemic, the elderly cannot go out to buy medicine and food like before,” said Chen Qiang, a community worker.
