China has entered the most critical period in the fight against COVID-19. To effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and get through the last mile of delivering epidemic control measures to foreign residents in the district, the Foreign Affairs Office of Haidian District has strictly followed the instructions of the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, conducted surveys to collect data on the situation of communities with foreign residents and keep foreign residents informed of epidemic prevention and control policies through diversified means.
Surveys made to provide targeted services
The fight against COVID-19 is also a race against time. To identify the communities where foreign residents concentrated, the Foreign Affairs Office of Haidian District made phone calls to 29 subdistricts and towns. The thorough and meticulous surveys revealed that the number of communities with more than 10 foreign residents totals 41. They are distributed in 11 sub-districts, of which Xueyuanlu Subdistrict has the largest number of foreign residents. The top 10 communities with the largest number of foreign residents in Haidian District are: Wudaokou Jiayuan, Huaqing Garden, Ruanjian, Jianqing Garden, Jingshuyuan, Furun Jiayuan, Beijing Language and Culture University, Yicheng, Zhengfa, Dongwangzhuang, distributing in Xueyuanlu and Zhongguancun Subdistricts. The total number of foreign residents in these communities stands at 1,190.
Community-based epidemic prevention and control
In response to the recent concerns of communities and police stations in relation to challenges in epidemic prevention and control and the increasing number of foreign residents returning to Beijing, the Foreign Affairs Office of Haidian District has promptly consulted the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, drafted the Guidelines for Community-based Epidemic Prevention and Control Involving Foreign Residents, and timely notified the residents of relevant policies and the epidemic situation, which proved effective for the fight against epidemic in communities. In order to raise foreign residents' awareness about COVID-19, the Foreign Affairs Office of Haidian District took the lead in drafting, designing and producing COVID-19 promotional materials, including A Letter to Non-Chinese Citizens & Visitors in Haidian District of Beijing, Health Tips for Community Work (in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, and Russian) and Public Prevention of Pneumonia Caused by Novel Coronavirus.
Warm reminders written in seven languages for foreigners
On the afternoon of February 20 and the morning of February 21, six teams of the Foreign Affairs Office of Haidian District visited 41 communities with a large number of foreign residents. They notified the secretaries of neighborhood committees of the policy concerning foreign residents returning to Beijing and distributed more than 6,000 copies of multilingual COVID-19 promotional materials to enable community workers and police officers who don't speak foreign languages to communicate effectively with foreign residents.
The first team sent pamphlets to nine communities in Beixiaguan Subdistrict and Xueyuanlu Subdistrict.
The second team assisted in epidemic prevention work in communities in Northern Taipingzhuang Subdistrict.
The third team visited six communities in Tiancunlu Subdistrict to deliver epidemic prevention policies.
The fourth team visited Zhongguancun, Shangdi, Haidian, and Huayuanlu Subdistricts to conduct surveys on COVID-19 control of foreign residents.
The fifth team assisted in epidemic prevention work in Shuguang Subdistrict.
Effective communication with foreign residents
After receiving the promotional materials, including A Letter to Non-Chinese Citizens & Visitors in Haidian District of Beijing, tips for foreigners, and guide on epidemic prevention and control, community workers and police officers promptly distributed these materials to foreign residents in Haidian District. This act touched the hearts of the foreign residents.
An American citizen living in Mingguangcun Community was reading A Letter to Non-Chinese Citizens & Visitors in Haidian District of Beijing.
Foreign residents in Jinqiu Zhichun Community in Northern Taipingzhuang Subdistrict received materials from community workers.
The police officers stationed in Huaqingyuan Community gave promotional materials to a foreign resident who came for registration.
A South Korean citizen living in Danyuan Dongli received COVID-19 promotional materials written in Korean.
Proactive campus-based epidemic control and prevention
In light of the latest developments in epidemic control and prevention, our next step is to visit foreign teachers and students in universities to explain the policy concerning arrivals in Beijing and distribute multilingual materials to them. Prior to this, we have timely notified key universities and the International Education Office of the Education Commission of Haidian District of the relevant policies concerning foreigners and got the exact number of foreign teachers and students in the district. We have assisted with epidemic control and prevention involving foreigners in universities in the district, providing the electronic version of multilingual COVID-19 promotional materials to the International Education Office of Tsinghua University and 900 copies of multilingual COVID-19 promotional materials to Peking University and Beijing Language and Culture University.
We are now at a crucial juncture. Solidarity is required in order to win the fight against COVID-19.
