Amid the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic in Shenzhen, many teachers and students from local schools are doing their part in the fight against the virus. All the kindergartens, primary and junior high schools in Luohu and Longgang districts have kick-started their winter vacation on January 10 ahead of schedule to help curb the spread of the virus. Moreover, public schools in other districts also wrapped up their semester yesterday as scheduled. Many teachers have joined the subdistricts and communities in the pandemic prevention and control work since January 7 when a couple infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 living and working in Luohu and Longgang districts was detected in a regular mass screening of workers from key industries in Shenzhen. Ma Yuyang, a Grade 7 physics teacher from Gezhi Middle School in Longhua District, since January 10 has been helping with the pandemic prevention and control work in the community together with five of his colleagues. Although Ma couldn’t attend the final exam of the school that was scheduled on January 12, the night before the test he sent his regards to his students in a video taken at the community’s nucleic acid testing site while wearing a protective suit and face shield . Students are also actively engaging in the fight against the pandemic by taking nucleic acid tests, doing volunteer work in the community, keeping an optimistic mindset while staying put and extending their care and thankfulness to the community workers and medics on the frontline of pandemic prevention and control. The Diwuyuan Community in Bantian Subdistrict, Longgang District launched its third round of nucleic acid tests on January 11. After taking the test, each resident received a heart-shaped sticker as the token for them to enter and exit their housing estate before the test report was released. Encouraged by the stickers, many children living in the community overcame their fear of the throat swabs and managed to take the nucleic acid tests. Children living in Jixiang Community, Longgang District after taking the nucleic acid test received a small gift in addition to the sticker. A 9-year -old boy was also seen serving as a volunteer together with his parents at the testing site. For students living in control areas, they not only kept an optimistic mindset while staying put, but also encouraged their neighbors to stay positive during their home quarantine. In Phase 3 of the Xiyiyushan Residence in Buji Subdistrict, Longgang District, the residential building 3C, where one of the close contacts of the confirmed COVID-19 cases lives in, has been put under quarantine. To encourage the residents of 3C, a school girl sang the song “Ode to Motherland” from her balcony together with her neighbors on the night of January 10. She also danced and played the guitar. A photo of a 17-year-old boy, who wore a hoodie with the word “China” on his back and brought a trolley of breakfast and coffee to a nucleic acid testing site near the Tianjicheng Residence in Longgang District, went viral online recently. In another development, Liu Qianqian, a nurse from the Chunfeng campus of the Shenzhen Luohu Hospital Group, received a letter of thanks from a 4-year-old girl at a testing site in Meiyuan Community, Qingshuihe Subdistrict, Luohu District on January 11. “The letter was written by the girl’s elder brother,” said Liu. “She came with her mother and grandmother-in-law to take the test and gave us the letter. We are deeply moved by this small gift.” (Wang Haolan) | 