Asia

Slowly but steady, China strives to make widespread COVID-19 testing the new normal

adminMay 13, 20202 Mins read92 Views

SHANGHAI/BEIJING: Beijing resident Wang Yukun was happy to comply in April when the construction firm he works for told him he'd need to take a test for COVID-19 before he could come back to work, even though he was at low risk of having the disease.

"My company arranged it and covered the test fee. The process was less time-consuming than I imagined," he said, recalling how he got his negative result the next day. "I think everyone should be tested as a matter of personal health."

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While COVID-19 tests can be difficult to obtain in many countries, China is rapidly expanding their availability and affordability, enabling the masses – not just frontline workers, people from hard-hit areas or the sick – to get tested.

China is able to produce 5 million test kits a day, the country's industry ministry said last month.

While China has not tallied how many daily tests are being carried out nationally, its capacity is far greater than other countries including the United States, which has conducted around 300,000 tests daily on average in recent days, according to the non-profit COVID Tracking Project.

Even South Korea and Germany, hailed for tested widely, were able to conduct roughly 20,000 and 120,000 tests a day, respectively, at their peak.

Major Chinese cities and provinces have published lists of hundreds of hospitals and clinics now authorised to perform tests and are expanding laboratory capabilities to allow people to obtain their nucleic acid test results in a few hours.

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Some local governments have added the tests to basic medical insurance schemes, helping to cover costs which range from 60-270 yuan (US$8.50-US$38).

The easy access has helped firms, schools and entertainment providers to reopen after widespread testing. Hosts of popular Chinese singing competition, Singer 2020, invited 251 audience members to record a live show last month after testing them.

It is also laying the groundwork for mass testing efforts, should the need arise.

Wuhan, the epicentre of China's COVID-19 outbreak, plans to conduct nucleic acid testing across the city of 11 million after a cluster of new infections emerged, sources said.

TESTING UNEVEN, VOLUNTARY

China began pushing for widespread testing in April as concerns about the potential asymptomatic patients spreading the virus rose.

Since Apr 13, each Chinese province has been required to provide daily reports on their virus testing efforts, and a stringent nationwide regime of screening, testing and quarantine has seen case numbers fall sharply since peaking in mid-February.

Even so, China has refrained from making testing mandatory for all people. Daily, country-wide testing data is not published, and the ramp up of testing capability has been uneven.

Hubei, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Heilongjiang, which have a combined population of over 267 million, are together able to conduct at least 321,000 tests a day, according to statements they made in April and May.