To contribute to the ongoing war on the pathogen, Hello Global started providing free shared bicycles to medical care and public service staff in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus in Central China's Hubei province, on Jan 25. The special offer was expanded to all front line fighters around the country four days later.

According to company statistics, demand for bicycles for medical-use trips in Wuhan has increased by about five percentage points compared with that before the outbreak, while the increase in other cities has been about one to two percentage points. Especially since Jan 23, shared bikes have become an important public transport alternative for doctors, nurses and patients.

Experts say that most viruses will not survive for more than an hour in outdoor environments, and the novel coronavirus is no exception. Thus, the chances of being infected with the virus while using the sterilized shared bicycles are limited.

In addition, Hello Global has offered thousands of free cycling cards for front line personnel. " Citizens must protect themselves and cut unnecessary trips these days. And we will do our best to sterilize the shared bikes as a public health guardian," said Liu.