Beijing Residents Rush To Clinics For Virus Tests

Anxious residents in Beijing are flooding to clinics for voluntary coronavirus tests after the authorities mandated tests for hundreds of thousands of people as measures against a new outbreak of the disease widened.

Crowds of masked people waiting for tests have become a common sight in recent days across Beijing, which has tested more than 350,000 people, with many more expected.

"It’s very difficult right now," said musician Chen Weiwen, 31, whose plans to visit the southwestern city of Chengdu faced a delay because of the wait for a test.

"I don't mind waiting, but after the test I need to leave in 7 days and there may not be a flight I can get then."

The measures are part of the city's "wartime" response to a surge of 158 infections since last week, the majority linked to its huge Xinfadi wholesale food centre.

Residents now require a negative result on a nucleic acid test to travel, officials say, as well as to visit some attractions or return to work in industries that involve food handling.

That is in addition to mandatory tests for those with direct links to the market and their close contacts, as well as people in surrounding neighbourhoods and frontline health workers.

That could be a large number, as officials say about 200,000 people from all over Beijing have visited Xinfadi since May 30.

"Testing efficiency is high," Pan Xuhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, said on Thursday.

"Those who need to leave Beijing can safely do so once tested negative in a nucleic acid test."

Staff at a restaurant in the southern Fengtai district told Reuters that health workers had tested every employee.

At the same time, state media warned that supplies in the city of 21 million could be strained, and checks showed waiting times for voluntary appointments stretched to weeks or months in some places.

China, a top producer of nucleic acid tests, could turn out up to 5 million a day, authorities said last month. Beijing has expanded daily testing capacity to 90,000, but the new programme puts a strain on resources.

"Some citizens spontaneously go to medical institutions or fever clinics for (tests) and crowding occurs," the state-run Beijing Daily newspaper said.

That in turn heightened infection risks and pressure on the supply of materials and testing capacity, it added.

One case was also recorded in the neighbouring city of Tianjin and two more in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing – prompting travel restrictions to be placed on Anxin county, home to around 460,000 people, banning most traffic going in and out of the area.

Essential service vehicles are allowed into Anxin, about 150 kilometres from Beijing, while regular and government cars can enter and leave only if they have permission, state media said. (Reuters, AFP)