US businessman goes all out to help fight virus

Editor's note: In this new series, we share stories and experiences showing how expats are dealing with the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak.

Owen Messick, president of doTERRA China, was spending his Spring Festival Holiday in the United States in January when he started to hear a lot about the novel coronavirus outbreak.

"I was concerned about my company colleagues, friends and clients in China," said Messick, 57, a US citizen who has lived in Shanghai for 12 years.

He then talked to his companies' executives in the US. "They all expressed a lot of support to China and told me 'just do whatever you can to help'," he said.

Communicating with his team in China, Messick got to know the epidemic was very serious. "It was important to act as quickly as possible, and we had a discussion on Chinese New Year's Eve with my colleagues and made the decision to donate as much as we can," he said.

On Jan 25, the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, the company, an essential oils and related products seller based in Utah, donated 1 million yuan ($141,000) worth of hand sanitizers and cash to Shanghai Charity Foundation through its China branch.

Messick booked a flight back to China in late January, but the first flight was canceled and he only managed to return in February.

The company then donated another million yuan to Wuhan and purchased protective suits and goggles for medical workers at hospitals in Shanghai and volunteer workers doing screening at transportation hubs.

"We were inspired by the medical staff and officials working very hard at the front line," he said, adding that up to now the company has made donations of various kinds totaling 5.5 million yuan to help the Chinese people fight the disease.

Twenty-three Chinese employees of doTERRA China volunteered to work at a factory producing medical protective suits in Pudong in Shanghai in early February, when the factory lacked workers.

"The first team worked there around the clock, and we sent a team to rotate out the first team later," he said.

As the epidemic got under control in Shanghai, Messick was invited to a meeting held by Shanghai's Jing'an district government.

"I really admired the officials who have been working hard the whole holiday, and it was a very difficult challenge for them to hold the balance of economic and health and safety issues," he said. "Overall, I think the result is really good."

By Feb 10, when the Shanghai government announced the end of the prolonged Spring Festival holiday, the daily report of new infections had dropped to a single digit.

The company's factory in China resumed work on Feb 13, and all the office workers also started working from home then.

As the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a pandemic, Messick said the disease will affect international shipping, which makes it difficult for companies like doTERRA to import products.

"We never stopped delivering, but it's just become slower," he said, adding that the Chinese customers mostly showed understanding and the impact is limited and will be over soon.

"I know people around the world have become anxious about the pandemic, but hope we can take appropriate measures to protect themselves, do some indoor exercises and sleep well," he said. "Hope we can get over this soon."