A minibus driver has won high praise from the public recently for keeping COVID-19 from spreading.

Dong Wenjun, 46, drove a chartered van for a 10-person tour group from Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. The group had previously traveled to the Inner Mongolia autonomous region before returning to the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, where they would board trains back to Shanghai.

Dong noticed the wave of cases reported in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. He suggested that group members get tested for COVID-19 first before the return trip. The group had planned to travel in Wuzhong, Ningxia, on Oct 18 and leave for Zhejiang the next day.

"On our way, we got along well. After hearing my suggestion, they all agreed," Dong recalled.

After arrival in Wuzhong, they were tested at a local hospital before lunch. Four of the tests came back positive.

When netizens learned of Dong's initiative, they praised him as a hero who "has cut a chain of transmission" and "saved a city".

"It's nothing," Dong said. "I was just thinking we should be responsible for ourselves and people around us."

He is currently in quarantine for observation.