Foreign residents help keep Suzhou safe

Yoo Sunyeob, a Korean national in Suzhou in Jiangsu province, has once again volunteered with other foreign residents at nucleic acid testing sites to help what they all refer to as "their hometown" in its battle to contain the virus.

He has been volunteering at the Tianyu residential community testing site in the Suzhou Industrial Park since Valentine's Day. Together with a team of foreign volunteers, which he helped found last June, Yoo helps with translations, registration and maintaining order at the site.

They start at around 7 am and finish only after all the day's testing is done in the afternoon.

"I've been living in Suzhou for 17 years," Yoo said. "For me, it is now my hometown. I'm happy to volunteer to guarantee its safety."

In June, the team helped 8,000 Korean residents in the city with vaccinations, putting in some 2,000 hours of service.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Suzhou had reported 102 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases and 25 asymptomatic cases in its latest outbreak.

As one of the key cities in the Yangtze River Delta, the city is home to about 17,000 foreign companies and nearly 30,000 foreign residents. Many have volunteered with virus prevention work, especially since the outbreak has led to schools and offices being closed, giving workers free time.

Ellen Touchstone, a US citizen who works at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University since 2012, has been working as a volunteer at a COVID-19 testing site for several days. She helps with taking temperatures and checking health codes.

Able to speak English, French and German, she helps other residents with the language barrier.

"One hundred years ago, my American grandparents came to Suzhou to serve the community," she said. "Today, by doing this volunteer work, I kind of feel like I'm doing what they would have wanted me to do."

Bethany and Jeff Sootheran, a couple from the United States, have been living in the Chengbang residential community for several years, and both have stepped up to protect the city.

"We've chosen to make Suzhou and this neighborhood our home," Bethany Sootheran said. "The people here have always welcomed us as family. They have helped us many times in the past when we truly needed support."

The couple applied to volunteer when the virus first broke out in 2020 by helping publicize protection information and deliver food.

Wang Jun, one of the leaders of the industrial park's foreign volunteer team, said that after seeing many foreigners struggling due to the language barrier, she and her team immediately worked on translating government pamphlets to put them at ease.

She said that 80,000 volunteers, including foreigners, have served in Suzhou's communities.

Zhou FurongandHang Xuefeiin Suzhou contributed to this story.