Residents of the Jinxin sub-district in Tongzhou patiently queue up to take a nucleic acid test. [Photo by Xu Haoxiang/tongzhou.gov.cn]

To win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, Tongzhou district – administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – carried out mass nucleic acid tests on April 7-11.

At a sampling site set up at Renmin Park in the Hongnan community of Jinsha sub-district, the locals who headed there to take a test on April 8 did so in a calm and orderly manner.

Volunteers in red vests checked people's health codes and digital travel records and patiently reminded them to keep their social distance and to queue in order. Priorities were given to special groups such as senior citizens and pregnant women.

Hongnan community has a permanent residential population of 6,077, with 16 residential areas under its jurisdiction. In order to ensure that everyone took a test, volunteers informed the locals about matters needing attention and the location of the sampling points in WeChat groups every day.

In order not to affect students taking online lessons, fast-track lines were opened for them from 2 pm to 4 pm every day at all sampling sites, providing rapid access to testing.

"I was afraid it would be a long wait, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. The fast-track line is so considerate," said a Ms Chen, who took her children to have their tests at 3 pm on April 8.