Medical staff tie ice cream on their heads to avoid heatstroke. Screenshot of Sina.com

Entering the hot summer period, the challenges for nucleic acid samplers have also increased. In recent days, some of them have fainted from heatstroke in several cities. The thick protective clothing they wear is airtight. After wearing it for a while, their body temperature can reach 64 C.

In Suixi, East China's Anhui Province, medical staff tied ice cream on their heads while collecting samples in order to cool down. 

"The temperature is too high these days, and the collection team has been suffering from heatstroke. With the ice cream close to their skin, their temperatures really dropped a lot," a staff member said. "I am very grateful to the residents of the community who understand us."

Noticing the harm caused by the hot weather, nucleic acid samplers have been equipped with cooling equipment in some areas: Shanghai has purchased cooling vests for samplers and air-conditioners have been installed in the kiosks to avoid discomfort caused by high temperatures.