Highlights
By Pan Wenjie
"Dear customer, your SF package has arrived. Please take your ID card and pick up your package at... Thank you."
On March 22, the delivery suspension on SF Express in Hangzhou was lifted. The logistics giant reopened its transmitting sites and pleaded to deliver all packages stuck in transit to the receivers as soon as possible. All packages and workplaces are to go through stringent and regular disinfection.
What's more, couriers have been back to busy work from the week-long isolation. "We have done rounds of nucleic acid tests, all negative." Tan, a SF courier, said that he, just like many of his co-workers, felt "relieved" to be back at work. "There were too many parcels stranded at the sites. Customers need us." Tan also extended gratitude to his clients for their understanding: "They called and spoke words of comfort, telling me not to worry about the packages but to stay safe."
The SF suspension in Hangzhou had gone on for 8 days since March 14 after 49 related cases were confirmed the day earlier. This resurgence of COVID-19 could be traced back to March 9 when the first case was reported at the company's transmitting site in the city's Yuhang District. During the weeks, the city approved and put free antigen self-test kits into public use for the convenience of the locals while conducting mass nucleic acid tests at the same time. Thanks to the joint efforts by all the people in the city, the pandemic is quickly put out.
Things are looking up in Hangzhou, undoubtedly, as more good news has been on the way. On March 27, Yuhang District announced its recovery from the flare-up hence the removal of all lockdown restrictions in the area. In addition, the first batch of Pfizer's oral anti-COVID-19 drug Paxlovid has just landed in Zhejiang. The drug can slow the replication of the virus and is authorized to treat certain patients.
Let's hope for a closer step towards the end of the epidemic and a longer cozy spring to enjoy the breeze, the flowers and the green.