The outbreak of the novel coronavirus pneumonia was fierce, and Wuhan in Hubei province has been severely affected by the epidemic.

In addition to the medical workers saving lives on the main 'battlefield', there has also been a group of ordinary people engaged in the fight against the epidemic. Volunteers from POWERCHINA Hubei Engineering Co (HYPEC) have formed a "love harbor" group to help Wuhan residents.

Volunteers from HYPEC carry out disinfection work in a housing estate in Wuhan. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

On Feb 15, there was a heavy snowfall in Wuhan, the first since the Spring Festival. Early on the morning on Feb 16, in the Tieji Shengshi Jiayuan No 19 and 20 buildings housing estate in Wuhan, "love harbor" volunteers began their work.

Residents in the housing estate had responded positively to the government's call to stay indoors more and had put their garbage outside their doors for centralized disposal.

The "love harbor" volunteers took the initiative and began undertaking community disinfection and removing the garbage. The volunteers also help residents buy vegetables, eggs, meat and other daily supplies. At present, there are 165 people in 46 households in the housing estate altogether. During the epidemic, the residents can fully guarantee their living needs without leaving their homes. 

What's more, an emergency material purchasing team composed mainly of "love harbor" volunteers was set up after HYPEC received a request to buy more epidemic prevention materials.

The "love harbor" volunteers help residents buy vegetables, eggs, meat and other daily supplies. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

They searched for the most urgently needed protective clothing, masks and other key epidemic prevention materials throughout the country, and arranged the whole purchasing and delivery process, including purchasing plan declarations, signing for receipts, inspections, and warehousing.

In just two weeks, the volunteers purchased 4,500 protective suits, 2,000 goggles, 60,000 disposable masks as well as many bottles of medical alcohol and disinfectant.

Most of the "love harbor" volunteers are ordinary office workers from HYPEC. Wang Lie, a volunteer from the materials department of the design institute of HYPEC, gave up his family reunion time and volunteered to be a member of the "love harbor".

He has been helping coordinate daily deliveries, unloading supplies, and transporting medical staff since Jan 25.

A volunteer from HYPEC transports medical workers in Wuhan. [Photo/POWERCHINA]

HYPEC has 3,391 retired employees. To engage with the retired employees, learn about their health conditions and understand their practical difficulties, volunteers contacted the retired employees by telephone and other means and passed their requests to the relevant departments of the company.

At present, the epidemic prevention and control work in Wuhan has entered the most critical stage. The volunteers of "love harbor" are still contributing to the victory in the war against the epidemic.