To co-build the anti-epidemic Fortress: AXHUers make concerted efforts battling against resurging COVID-19

To co-build the anti-epidemic Fortress:

AXHUers make concerted efforts battling against resurging COVID-19

University Office, Anhui Xinhua University

April 7, 2022

Due to COVID-19 outbreaks, adhering to the political guideline-- an emergency response to the COVID-19 resurgence is like gathering for a military order; COVID-19 prevention and containment matters a last-mile concern; student’s life safety is of paramount importance, AXHU fully implemented the resolutions adopted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its governmental authorities at all levels to make a dynamic investigation, in-depth analysis, and concrete planning aiming to win the complete victory of the COVID-19 epidemic at the institutions for higher education. Under the strong leadership of the AXHU Anti-pandemic Work Group in unison, all the sectors resorting to the multi-fold measures throw themselves into the battlefield against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upholding lofty Ideology, scientifically programming and effectively implementing

The anti-pandemic matters go first and foremost.

On March 16, AXHU received the official documents, including A Notice on Intensifying the Current COVID-19 Prevention and Containment in the City of Hefei; A Request for strengthening the administrations over the COVID-19 Prevention and Containment, released by the People's Government of Anhui Province. From then on, combining with the relevant directives from the Anhui Provincial Education Department, Hefei Municipal Education Bureau, and Anhui Xinhua Group, AXHU coordinates with the local authorities in the Shushan district to carry out a school-wide management concerning the COVID-19 containment.  

The Work Group strictly carries out a system of Daily Briefing + Themed Conference, and the school-wide anti-pandemic work is not only listed as the TOP one on the agenda, but also treated as a critical political task. To enhance risk awareness and reinforce a sense of responsibility, the school leaders in person begin field visits inspecting every site on campus. Over the last week, it held 12 meetings to collect the first-hand information, deploy and arrange the upcoming work, announce the relevant conference spirit and forward its documents relating to the COVID-19 prevention and containment.

At AXHU, the faculty, student and staff quickly transitioned themselves into a state of fighting against COVID-19, and were mobilized to participate in it according to the latest directives released by the administration.

Targeted screening, scientific prevention and containment, inclusively precise engagement

After Anhui province reported a few sporadic confirmed cases or asymptomatic infections,  AXHU immediately took action on risk management by tracing and screening the latest data of faculty, student and staff, and monitoring their real-time travel information, and it, correspondingly, rolled out a blend of anti-pandemic measures mandated over the faculty and staff, comprising of School-Home trajectory of commuters’, individual health e-record, White-list access endorsement by AXHU president, mask wearing, ID identifying, body temperature checking, health code verifying and so on.  

Tracing the dynamic data of every student’s physical and mental health becomes the foremost job against COVID-19, all the mentors exert online surveillance around the clock via QQ, WeChat and “Health Clock-in” app on mobile phone, and in person, head to every dorm imposing point-to-point regulation for the sake of potential safety and security hazard, to operate grid management ensuring the relevant statistical data is updated, accurate and accessible. Besides, a system of dynamic zero-risk report runs daily at school.

Meanwhile, the AXHU administration reinforces its rule and regulation over the entire school community. Acting as a model role, the school-level leaders lodging at school to organize the administrators to implement school-wide supervision and comprehensive management-- 24-hour patrolling at the school entrance as well as its adjacent areas, keeping a lookout for any violations of COVID-19 containment. Till now, few students have been detected and received a corresponding punishment by the Department for Students’ Affairs of AXHU.  

A holistic, heart-to-heart service catering for students

AXHU administration bears in mind the mission and spares no efforts to carry out its anti-epidemic work. The school leaders, faculty and staff always put the wholehearted service to students in the first place.

The school-wide nucleic acid test witnesses AXHU’s work capacity. Recently, coordinated with local authorities of disease prevention and control, it has completed all-member tests at school as well as the regular sampling test of 20% each day. The staff members go to the test site, where they facilitate the medics to process efficiently and manage the tested students to keep a social distance as required. Consequently, the entire proceeding goes smoothly and successfully. For only one time of swab testing, the total number is up to over 20 thousand testees per day, which fully manifests AXHU Momentum.

In order to guarantee sound online teaching and learning, based on the relevant directives issued by Anhui Provincial Education Department, the local authorities, or AXHU Anti-pandemic Work Group, the virtual online teaching and learning has become a makeshift replacing all of the offline in-class activities at school since April 1, 2022. At the conference for teaching affairs, the provost repeatedly stresses, “Right now! Teaching and learning can’t be suspended. Moreover, the online teaching quality, which is a critical component in the context of higher education, can’t be neglected while battling against COVID-19 resurgence. All the schools and teaching units should increase much more opportunities for academic communication between faculty and students to ensure a good teaching and learning cycle, in which the scheduled teaching tasks will be proactively completed on the one side, and the positive energy and optimistic spirit rising up to grapple with the current difficulties can be spread widely on the other side.” 

To be closer and care for students’ lives, the school-level leaders in person head for library and students’ dormitories, where greet the current students, learn about the things involving the health and study status of theirs in recent days, and exhort them to strictly abide by the school-released regulations on the COVID-19 prevention and containment, so as not to deviate from the right course. Yet, all the members should make an overall improvement in the aspects of academic work and physical and psychological wellness. For it is at the moment that the senior college students (class of 2022) are engaging in either second-round examination for postgraduate admission or landing a job, all the sectors try their utmost to help them reduce the negative impact arising from the COVID-19 resurgence. Meanwhile, the mentors speak out their heartily cozy words to them, which are like the parents’ considering, the siblings’ caring, or the peers’ attending.

To make the logistics support system go into effect, the staff members with the logistics department of AXHU unremittingly takes the duties ranging from the Food & Beverages service to stockpiling anti-pandemic materials to campus-wide disinfection & sanitization to facilities maintenance, etc.. Almost everywhere on campus, you can catch sight of them hustling to work. Faced with the unseen pressure of COVID-19 containment, the leader points out, the logistics work with the students at the center should be more scientific, concrete, and effective.

Highlighting students’ wellbeing and development, promoting positive publicity and considerate education services

The positive publicity and mental education could, to some extent, be compared to a dose of “specific vaccine” against the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistently, AXHU relies on a raft of flexible and resourceful countermeasures to address some hidden issues threatening students’ spiritual wellbeing, such as depression, melancholy, or anxiety disorder. To integrate the latest information relating to COVID-19 containment into the regular publicity messaging a feeling of everlasting love from people to people on the closed-off campus and beyond, and to advertise as much scientific knowledge of the epidemic prevention and control as possible, AXHU officially released a series of focus features or specials posted on the WeChat social media platform: @ All the AXHUers; Saying No to “Lying Flat”-- A Guideline on the Health Management of the Life and Study on Temporarily Closed-off Campus; Confronting with Uncertainties of COVID-19 Epidemic, WE are Growing Stronger: Mega Psychological Classes Online Launched at AXHU; @ AXHUers Battling with COVID-19 Resurgence-- An Offer to Facilitate the Epidemic Prevention and Control in a Scientific Way, etc.. AXHUers are, shoulder by shoulder, committed to co-building the immune Great Wall!

As of 15:30 on April 5, 2022 (Beijing Time), taking the nucleic acid samples for all the members at AXHU shows negative test, i.e., dynamic zero COVID-19. To follow up, remaining true to educators’ original aspiration, AXHU continues to underscore the responsibilities of the faculty and staff and to take resolute, swift and scientific anti-pandemic moves on the battlefield against COVID-19 epidemic. Especially, the faculty and staff in each and every sector should undertake their own duties to resolutely safeguard the students’ life safety and reserve a land of zero COVID-19.