The Chinese Christian community gave support to Xi'an which has been quarantined for more than two weeks.
A total of 1,690 local confirmed cases have been reported in Shaanxi Province since December 9, including 1,663 in Xi’an, the capital of China’s northwestern province, according to the Shaanxi Provincial Health Commission on January 4. From December 23, communities (villages) and units in Xi'an had implemented closed-off management. With a population of 13.5 million, Xi'an, in lockdown was under great pressure to fight the pandemic.
As Rev. Wang Jun, chairman and president of the Shaanxi CC&TSPM, attributed great importance to the anti-pandemic work of the churches and the society as a whole, a survey was conducted by a meeting point as well as some charity organizations to understand the shortage of pandemic prevention materials in each community. Based on summary statistics, Rev. Wang called CCC&TSPM for support and said they needed supplies worth more than 716,000 yuan, including medical masks, protective clothing, protective gloves, protective masks, shoe covers, and effervescent tablets of disinfectant, according to Shaanxi CC&TSPM.
Receiving the rescue call, staff workers of CCC&TSPM, the state-approved umbrella organization for Protestant churches, instructed the social service department to transfer the relief funds on the same day. On the first day of the new year in 2022, the prevention materials arrived in Xi'an from other places.
During the days that followed, local churches and non-profit organizations in Xi'an distributed these materials to many places in need.
Responding to the lockdown of Xi’an City, the faith-based Amity Foundation started to carry out an investigation and to support the local community's pandemic prevention. As of December 31, it had distributed 850 sets of protective clothing and 4,800 medical N95 masks to nearly 200 volunteers in 20 communities in the Weiyang District and Baqiao District of Xi'an, the foundation said.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
