A batch of medicated soap bars to be sent to Wuhan, Feb. 9, 2020. (Provided to Xinhua)
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, more than 10 million bars of medicated soaps have been used in households across China, giving a helping hand in the battle against the virus.
SHANGHAI, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Before each meal, Di Yang takes out a purple-red soap bar and washes his hands.
"This kind of soap is medicated, and is great for preventing disease transmission," said Di, 42, a Shanghai-based surgeon.
As China feels the pinch of the virus outbreak, traditional medicated soaps are giving a helping hand in the battle against the novel coronavirus in the country.
So far, more than 10 million bars of medicated soaps have reached households in China amid the epidemic, including Hubei Province, the center of the virus outbreak, according to Shanghai-based soap manufacturer Shanghai Soap, one of the oldest soap bar makers in China.
Containing anti-bacterial ingredients, medicated soap bars usually smell like medicine.
Before China's reform and opening up in the late 1970s, medicated soap bars had already extended to families in Shanghai as well as in the Yangtze River Delta, and gained great popularity among the general public to help prevent disease transmission.
"I remember my parents would buy these medicated soap bars and ask me to wash my hands with them when I was little," said Zhong Ling, a middle school teacher in east China's Jiangxi Province. "I still buy these bars to maintain proper hygiene these days."
Medicated soap bars are produced in a factory in Shanghai, east China, Feb. 9, 2020. (Provided to Xinhua)
The soap bars have remained popular to this day.
"I remember more than 30 years ago, there was a hepatitis A epidemic in Shanghai, and every family bought medicated soap bars for daily cleansing," Di recalled. "Washing your hands with medicated soap was considered one of the most effective ways to prevent infection."
Di currently works in a fever clinic in Shanghai.
"About a month ago, I was seeing my colleagues off to Wuhan to fight the virus, and all the doctors and nurses had medicated soaps in their suitcases," he said.
Medicated soap bars played a role in the prevention and control of hepatitis A, SARS, and the Ebola outbreak in Africa, said Ouyang Yiling, with the Shanghai Soap.
Currently, Shanghai exports more than 5,000 boxes of medicated soap bars to Africa annually, according to official figures.
In late January, Shanghai Soap's factories already started rolling as the coronavirus hit. The virus disrupted the company's production plans, and it decided to temporarily halt the production of other soap products and focus on making medicated soap bars and other disinfectants.
In February, the company's highest daily production reached 700,000 soap bars.
"This is a special period, so we adjusted our products and functions," Ouyang said. "We wanted to improve our efficiency and contribute to the fight against the virus." ■
