Mass And Frequent Covid Tests Are Being Held In China Due To Infection Rate Surge
As the dates of the Winter Olympics, Beijing are close, the city has been strict on testing the millions of residents for Covid-19 in the city within a very short time.
The third round of the massive testing drive has started this Wednesday to test the 2 million people of Fengtai district. As the residents have to wait in lines for hours outdoors in this harsh weather, they have been expressing distress and annoyance over the matter.
Some people have said that they were asked to test again even after they have tested a day ago. When they asked the staff, they answered that it was to be done under the principle of testing.
The government has set up a lot of testing stations across the city. Some complained that their testing was delayed because of system issues.
The athletes who are going to participate in the competition have been kept in isolation to avoid getting infected. 13 among those who have come for the Olympics have tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. Currently, only 106 people out of the total 3695 have arrived at the Games. The positive ones with symptoms have been admitted to the hospital and the asymptomatic ones are isolated in their hotel rooms.
Right now the city has recorded a total of 69 cases of the Delta variant. The numbers are quite low compared to other countries like South Korea which has recorded over 13000 infections in a single day.
The country has been very strict on testing as every neighborhood and building in the city has come under the mass testing drive. The government has already declared that people who buy fever, headache, or other cold medicines need to get themselves tested for the virus within 72 hours. They also need to register their name, address, phone number, and official identification number to the store.
Half of the Covid positive cases in Beijing were found in Fengtai district and that is why the residents there have been tested for the third time within such a short time. There have been complete lockdowns in some areas and the people are not allowed to come out of their houses or buildings.
People are criticizing the matter saying it is a waste of the country’s resources and disrupting the everyday life of the residents on social media.
The health workers divide people into small groups consisting of 10 people to do the testing smoothly. While one person holds a container, a health worker takes the sample from the 10 people and collects the swabs in the same container. If the samples test positive, the 10 people in the group are tested individually. Many people have said that they have gotten used to it.
Even the government has loosened some restrictions; they still harbor a zero-COVID approach. This strict policy has proved to be a success as China has a very low number of cases compared to other countries.
