As Hong Kong fights atypical pneumonia, a courageous few have been working tirelessly at the frontlines. Healthcare staff have been attending to patients day and night. Some uniformed groups' volunteers have also pitched in to help.

Volunteer valour: Stephen Chow and Tai Sin-fan of the Red Cross, and Tam Yiu-kuen of the Civil Aid Service.

Mr Chow has found himself in the thick of the outbreak, Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, and is adjusting his mental approach to deal with such a serious situation.

"Although the Red Cross has always helped people in need, I would say that this time the circumstances are special. I have been serving the Red Cross for 17 years and saving lives is my mission, but this is the first time I have worked on the frontline where atypical pneumonia cases are being found. I have had to prepare myself and take things more seriously than I ever have before," he said.

Tai Sin-fan, of the Red Cross Youth Unit, has been working with the body for four years. She, too, has answered the call for more volunteer help and has been busy preparing hygiene kits.

"Although I cannot cure the patients, I can still contribute my hands and my time to help prevent the illness by lessening the workload of healthcare staff," she said. A secondary teacher, Ms Tai said she will share her experience with her students.

Tam Yiu-kuen, a 30-year veteran of the Civil Aid Service, helped Amoy Gardens residents who were quarantined at the Lei Yue Mun Holiday Village. He said he was too concerned about the residents' wellbeing to worry about contracting the virus himself.

"I was not nervous because this situation is affecting all Hong Kong citizens. But on the first day, our manpower was so tight. At lunch time there was only five of us, but we had to prepare and serve meals for 147 people - most of us worked for over 20 hours," he said.

The quarantine naturally left a few residents short tempered, but Mr Tam and his colleagues did not take their complaints personally and did their best to cater to their requests. Many complainants later apologised to him.

"We understood the residents might be in a bad mood because they were isolated. When the residents all left to go home they all said 'thank you very much, you have done a great job'."

These are a just a few of the many volunteers taking up the Chief Executive's call for Hong Kong people to unite in fighting atypical pneumonia.

If you can contribute in any way, large or small, please join in to fight this virus.