Neighbors care for senior living alone during COVID-19 outbreak

A resident (left) in Zhongheliyuan Community in Ningbo delivers a meal to a senior resident who lives alone and cannot move around easily during the recent COVID-19 outbreak. [Photo/Ningbo Evening News]

Residents in a community in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province participated in a voluntary effort to offer meals every day for a senior resident who lived alone and cannot move around easily during the recent COVID-19 outbreak in the city's Beilun district.

Zhongheliyuan Community in Beilun district was under closed-loop management due to recent COVID-19 prevention and control measures.

A 76-year-old resident surnamed He, who was incapacitated by a stroke, had to live alone at home while his son, a social worker, worked on the frontlines of the district's epidemic prevention and control efforts and his daughter-in-law was quarantined at a designated site.

To ensure that He could have his daily three meals on time, many residents volunteered to cook and deliver meals for him. They made a schedule, which listed which volunteer would deliver the meal to him and at what time. He’s dietary preferences were also written on the schedule.

Residents who were not good at cooking also participated in the effort. A young couple sent dessert and fruit to He.

"We don't know these neighbors well, though we greet each other every time we see each other. We thank them so much for what they did for my father," said He Sanqiang, son of the senior resident.