Pan Jiming, a policeman in Chongqing, succumbed while on duty to a sudden heart attack as he helped in fighting novel coronavirus pneumonia on Sunday.

His death has touched the hearts of millions of Chinese amid the battle against the contagion. China's Ministry of Public Security has sent its condolences to Pan's family.

The 51-year-old served at Fengwen police station at the Shapingba branch of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau. He had been dedicated to anti-epidemic work since the city initiated a first-level response to a public health emergency on Jan 24.

Prevention and control work at the area served by Fengwen police station is challenging because the area is inhabited by huge numbers of migrant workers.

Pan volunteered to shoulder the difficult task of patrolling and visiting every home to get to know residents' health conditions and their travel information.

Within one week, he and his colleagues visited nearly 80,000 residents from more than 30,000 families.

When six residents were suspected of being infected with the novel coronavirus, Pan and his partners went to the involved families to collect samples for medical tests and reassure them with policies on NCP prevention and control.

After sending patients who were confirmed with having NCP to the hospital for medical treatment, he then joined in quarantining the buildings in which the patients live to prevent further infections.

To better serve residents whose lives had been affected by quarantines, Pan usually worked very long hours. He visited quarantined residents twice a day to take their temperatures and brought them daily necessities.

Although his wife was worried about his health because he had a heart procedure last year, Pan always put residents' needs ahead of his own and reassured his wife that he could carry on.

He did what residents needed him to do, said a colleague.

Pan joined in military in 1987 and became a policeman after retiring in 2005.