In order to better fight against the novel coronavirus, some residential communities in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, have taken measures such as setting up disinfection sheds and using drones for inspections.

Since Feb. 8, Hanyang Jindi Lanfeixian Community in Wuhan has begun using a disinfection shed at the only entrance and exit for pedestrians.

The disinfection shed was installed on Feb. 7 and put into use the next day, with a humidifier spraying disinfectant on residents going in and out. Residents also have to have their temperatures taken.

In the western part of the Daqiao Modern Industrial Park in Jiangxia Economic Development District, Jin Hua operates a drone to start his daily inspection tasks every morning.

Since Feb. 1, the community has used drones to conduct daily inspections in the mornings and afternoons.

Wang Qiang, manager of the property management company, said that there are 38 high-rise buildings in the community, with a total area of nearly 600,000 square meters, but only 14 buildings have completed construction and are occupied here.

As the premises are not fully occupied, the current monitoring measures are not able to cover all the areas. As many residents like to gather together, the management company decided to use drones to carry out inspections.

On the first afternoon that drones were used for monitoring, the company found that villagers had gathered on the rooftop of one building to play cards without wearing masks. Staff immediately called road patrol personnel to persuade them to leave and eliminate the hidden danger of cross-infection.

Wang Qiang said that in the past, security guards took an hour to inspect the community. Now, thanks to the use of drones, it takes less than 10 minutes.

Furthermore, many communities in Wuhan are using WeChat mini programs to conduct online surveys to collect residents’ daily body temperature readings.

The questionnaires can be filled on a daily basis, which not only solves the difficulties of household inspections, but also improves efficiency and protects the privacy of residents.