On Aug 3, in the No 25 Courtyard of Erdaowan Road, Tianshan district, Urumqi, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, university student volunteer Ekebar Emet shed his protective garment and took a well-earned drink of water. He was thirsty and sweaty.

"Please consciously follow the epidemic prevention requirements and do not gather," he said, holding a loudspeaker in his hand as he walked back and forth in the courtyard. "If you feel unwell, please take the initiative to tell the community," he added. His work is part of the efforts to battle against the epidemic, and prevention and safety methods are constantly being promoted to the residents of the community.

Shang Yulan, deputy secretary-general of the city government, said during a conference on Monday that although the situation in Urumqi has shown a positive change with strict prevention and control measures taken by the city, Urumqi will continue to ensure and implement the effective measures to achieve an early victory against the epidemic.

Ekebar, 21, is from Yingwusitang township, Bachu county, Kashgar prefecture, in Xinjiang. He is a junior, currently majoring in computer network technology in Xinjiang Light Industry Vocational and Technical College. On June 3, according to the unified arrangement of the school, he came to Dongcaiyuan community, Tianshan district, in Urumqi for a one-year internship.

"I was mainly responsible for safety production," he said. "I check the fire extinguishers of the merchants every day." The sudden outbreak of the epidemic unexpectedly caused him to immediately transform from a university intern to a volunteer on the frontline of epidemic prevention and control.

After the outbreak of the epidemic, more than 210,000 volunteers in Urumqi participated in the "Passing the Love" voluntary epidemic prevention campaign, and he was one of them. "The epidemic prevention situation is still severe and complicated. We cannot relax the slightest, let alone take it lightly. I really want to do something for this city," he said.

Since joining the voluntary work, he has been on the frontline of epidemic prevention in the community. His work includes registering entering vehicles, taking temperatures of the residents, persuading them to wear masks, and helping the elderly, especially in explaining to them the latest development of epidemic prevention knowledge and the local situation. Although sometimes tired, his heart was full of enthusiasm.

In addition, he travels between the community center and the epidemic prevention checkpoint countless times a day to register entry and exit forms for the residents.

Through the volunteer work he also felt the joy and sense of accomplishment of serving the masses at the grassroots level. At the same time, he used actual actions to show everyone the sense of commitment of college students taking their home and country as their own responsibility.

He promotes prevention knowledge and key points of epidemic prevention to the 78 residents he serves every day. In order to avoid cross-infection, the residents stay at home, and he helps deliver the food and medicine they need.

In order to help them, he has built a special WeChat group, titled "Erdaowan Road No 25 Residents Group". Residents in the community send their daily requirements to the group every day. There are nearly 100 orders a day. He always finds a way to complete it. This serious and responsible college student volunteer has been recognized and appreciated by the residents for his diligence and perseverance.

"Residents have to stay at home to fight the epidemic, and community officials have been on the go all day. I believe this epidemic will pass soon. And I also feel that the epidemic has made residents more united, and everyone slowly understands that only a strong and unified community can overcome it," he said.

A health official said Wednesday China has effectively contained the rapid expansion of COVID-19 cases in Urumqi. Experts have been working to isolate the virus and confirm its genome sequence, said Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, at a news conference.