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Coronavirus: citizens in one China hotspot undergo 12 rounds of tests to halt virus but there is a cost
- Yangzhou in Jiangsu province has carried out 17.6 million Covid-19 tests in 12 rounds since July 28 and has effectively curbed the spread
- Molecular virologist opposes mass testing compared to strategies such as frequent contact tracing and regular checks at key locations, including airports
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A city in eastern China has carried out 12 rounds of Covid-19 testing of its population in three weeks during the country’s take-no-chances effort to stop the coronavirus in its tracks.
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The intensive testing – a pillar of China’s “zero-tolerance” prevention and control strategy – has helped Yangzhou in Jiangsu province to effectively suppress transmission but it has also taken a heavy toll on the city’s health care system, and caused serious disruption to people’s daily lives.
Yangzhou became the centre of a Covid-19 outbreak in July when about a dozen cleaners at a Nanjing airport tested positive for the Delta variant. The virus spread quickly among the local population with 561 confirmed infections by Wednesday. However, only six new cases were added on Wednesday – a significant drop compared with the tallies recorded last week.
According to local health officials, Yangzhou has carried out 17.6 million Covid-19 tests in 12 rounds since July 28.
“The 11th round of tests in my neighbourhood began at 6am this morning,” said Cai Yutong, a volunteer at a testing site in Jiaqiao community of the Hanjiang district on Tuesday. “I heard that there are two more rounds to come.”
About 3,000 residents were tested at the Jiaqiao testing site, run by six doctors and 30 volunteers.
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“We don’t have enough doctors,” Cai said. “In theory, the doctors should take a break every two hours but they ended up working until the end of the day without taking any rest.”
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