(Yicai Global) April 15 -- As Shanghai enters its third week of lockdown, property managers of residential communities are going above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that essential services are running smoothly. Yicai Global spoke to a number of these unsung heroes to find out how they are coping.

Shiji Tongle Community in the city's Putuo district has a permanent population of over 8,000. Twenty Covid-19 cases were found in the first round of mass testing and more than 10 buildings were sealed off. Four members of staff from the community’s property management office led 63 security guards, cleaners and engineers to join the epidemic prevention force.

“The city’s sub-district office and the neighborhood committee arranged staff to take charge of the buildings during lockdown, but they are still undermanned,” Yin Xiaowang, manager of the community’s property management office, told Yicai Global. “Our staff still need to fill in the gap between shifts, or when there is insufficient manpower.”

Among their many duties, Yin and his team are responsible for delivering food orders to each household, distributing government supplies and assisting with Covid-19 testing. Often they have to get up at 2 a.m. to get the test sites ready so that testing can begin at 6 a.m.

There are around 2,000 deliveries a day of daily necessities such as rice, flour, oil and milk to Shiji Tongle that Yin’s team and a group of volunteers need to carry from the compound gate to each building or even the doors of some residents. This keeps them busy until late at night.

“Residents in our community purchased a huge amount of supplies through bulk buy orders not long ago, including around one ton of strawberries,” Yin said.

Zhang Lijun, who is in charge of the Yaojiang International Plaza in Hongkou district, has been sleeping on a makeshift bed on the basement floor with 22 other colleagues since March 31. On the worst days, they only have rice mixed with sugar to eat.

But property managers’ hard work and sacrifice have been recognized by residents. Xu Yufang at Juntai Lixuan Community in Jing’an district told Yicai Global that some home owners bought CNY976 (USD153) worth of KFC for her and her team, enough for them to eat for several days.

And two college faculty members living in Wenhua Jiayuan Community in Yangpu district put together an atomizing disinfection machine to help property staff with their sterilization work.

“With this machine, we only need to spray the goods delivered which makes life much easier,” said staff member Gao Yajun.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor