A foreign volunteer named Wassily, from Russia, helps check the heath codes of passersby on a street in Xiacheng district, Hangzhou, capital of East China’s Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: hzscfb]

A foreign volunteer in Xiacheng district, Hangzhou, has recently gone viral on the internet for serving as a community worker to help prevent and control the virus.

Wassily is a man from Russia who studies law at Zhejiang University. He was assigned to stand guard at a gate on Qingbo Street.

His duty is to take the temperatures of passersby and check the heath codes of residents, a system developed by Hangzhou authorities to help categorize residents based on their risk level for infection. 

Residents report their health conditions and are assigned a code. Those who obtain a green code are eligible to travel freely in the city, while those who receive yellow or red codes must go through seven to 14 days of quarantine.

Wassily also has a Chinese name -- Wang Xiaodong. He has lived in China for six years, and can speak fluent Chinese. Wang often volunteers and is now a member of the Young Volunteer Team in Qinghefang Community.

Qinghefang Community is a residential area where many foreigners live. During the outbreak, many of the community's residents have signed up for volunteer work to help in the local fight against the virus.

This volunteering has been made possible through effective communication between foreign residents and community managers.

Wang is not only proficient in Chinese, but also in using Chinese phone apps such as Alipay. When the health code system was first launched, he registered his health information on the system through Alipay and received his heath code.

He has spent a lot of time promoting the heath code system and telling others how to apply for a code.

"China's problems are my problems, because the country has given me so much" he said emotionally.

He said that he plans to continue living in the country he loves.

Wassily, a law student at Zhejiang University, takes the temperature of a passerby on a rainy day. [Photo/WeChat account: hzscfb]