Workers package vegetables for group purchases at Baishazhou Wholesale Market in Wuhan. WANG JING/CHINA DAILY

A video clip posted online recently caught netizens' attention. The footage showed a woman speaking in the Wuhan dialect complaining that community workers were failing to play a proper role in helping residents purchase daily necessities from a local supermarket through group buying. She also said the package of commodities provided by the supermarket was not a "good combination" and the prices were unreasonable.

Tian said he understood the woman's complaints. However, he added that community workers are not all-powerful and there are circumstances they might neglect, "but we will do our best".

After the community lockdown was announced in Wuhan, the authorities stepped up efforts to ensure residents had an adequate supply and smooth delivery of daily necessities.

During an inspection tour of a fresh food processing and delivery center at Zhongbai Holdings Group last week, Wang Zhonglin, the Party secretary of the Wuhan City Committee, urged suppliers and logistics companies to make coordinated efforts to ensure that prices of provisions and commodities remain stable and that delivery services run smoothly.

He said it is necessary for people to stay at home to prevent and contain the epidemic, but it is essential that they are able to access daily necessities.

To ease the burden on community workers, on Feb 23, the local authorities launched a campaign to recruit volunteers. To date, more than 10,000 people throughout Wuhan have offered their services, officials said.

Zhou Qing, 37, who lives in the Huajin Community in Wuchang district, offered to act as a volunteer. Together with others, he helps community workers screen people for infection and to deliver daily necessities and medicine.

He said he is happy to contribute to the fight against the epidemic. "As President Xi Jinping said, prevailing in the war on the epidemic depends on all the Chinese people. I'm one of them," Zhou added.